The Escapement
by jess obsessed 04
Summary: Peeta and Katniss are kids in jail, with a sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole. When a riot breaks out and Katniss and Peeta have a chance to break out, what would they do? Follow them as they go into the real world, running from authorities and getting to be normal teenagers. Even if its only for a little while.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey my fellow readers! This is my first story after reading hundreds of them on this site. Decided to give it a try. Review and tell me what you think. Man if you like it that much, tell other readers to read it and review! So read on and enjoy!**

**Oh and this story will be in Peeta's point of view. I don't think it will ever be in Katniss' point of view. But we'll just have to wait and see now will we.**

Chapter 1: Peeta POV

The thin streams of light coming through my little eighteen be eighteen inch barred window is what woke me up from a dreamless slumber. I rubbed my tired eyes with the heels of my hands as I sat up in my bed. I look over to my cell door, the only thing that separates my room to the rest of the prison, to see that it's closed, which means it is before nine. The prison usually opens our cell doors in the morning so we can shower and grab breakfast in the commons down below on the first floor. I lay back down on my bed and waited for the guards to open our doors.

It wasn't too long before I hear a long alarm bell and a series of clicks. All of the doors started to slide open and prisoners started pouring into the overlook walkway in the front of the cell doors. I get up and walk out the door, molding into the stream of prisoners. I walk one cell down and stand in the doorway. I lean against the frame and admire the person inside. She has long dark brown hair that is out of its usual braid. A tan body peeks from her gray jumpsuit, which is only halfway on, with an over-sized white T-shirt as a top. I knock twice on the frame I was leaning on to get her attention. Mesmerizing gray meet my blue ones as she turns around. She looks at me for a second before giving me a smile.

"Ready to go Katniss?" I ask her. Katniss and I always walk down to breakfast together.

She comes up to me and ruffles my blonde hair with her tiny hand.

"Don't you think you should take a shower first? You stink," she tells me, kidding around. I shrug my shoulders and smile.

"Nah. My smell will keep away the other prisoners away," I joke back. She laughs and slaps my arm lightly. She pushes me towards the showers, where most of the other prisoners are located. I finally give in and head towards the showers, with Katniss in tow. At the entrance, they give us a new change of clothes, wash clothes, and soap. Since I can't take showers with the rest of the prisoners because of gender, I get to go into one of the private showers. I quickly wash up and go to meet Katniss down for breakfast.

Its not hard to find Katniss down in the lunchroom, since her and I are the only ones with gray jumpsuits in a sea of orange ones. The reason why Katniss and I get different color jumpsuits than the others is because of our age. We are only fourteen. Teenagers in prison. And we are never able to come out. The reason I'm in this high security prison is a pretty long story.

I was an orphan, parents abandoning me at the orphanage as a baby. The orphanage was crowded and out of control, with kids running around in every direction messes everywhere, and the list goes on. After years and years of dealing with the chaos, I would just leave whenever I could. Sometimes I would have to sneak out, because the people running the orphanage don't like kids leaving unsupervised. But most of the time it would be so busy that I would just walk right out the front door; don't even notice that I'm gone. I was just another one of the kids, nothing special.

So when I sneak out the fire escape one night when I was ten, I go unnoticed. I walk down the streets, stopping at various stores that are still open, even at such a late hour. I start to head back to the orphanage, passing some apartment complexes on the way. I hear some glass shatter above me, and I immediately put my arms above my head to protect it. I hear the glass shatter as it hits the ground around me. I cautiously move my hands down and look up. There was a shattered apartment window. I also heard some footsteps running away from me, knowing that the person was running away from the scene. Something is telling me to run away from the place and to get away before anyone see's you. I looked back up at the window and recognized the plants on the small balcony just outside the broken window. That was an apartment I was very familiar with. A man lived there, Rick was his name. I helped him carry some of his things home from a hardware store once, since then we have been close. Rick was like a father to me, taking care of me whenever I was around him. I took off running towards the fire escape stairs before my mind could process what I was going to do in the first place. I ran up the stairs, skipping every other step. I get to the window and break away some jagged edges of the window and went in.

I walked in, expected to find a hurt man on the floor, but that was no where in sight. I looked down at me shoes to find blood covering the bottom of them. I Immediately knew that Rick was dead, but where his body was, that was a mystery. I turned around to inspect the room, and found Rick's body . But he wasn't together, he was in pieces. Arms and legs hanging from the ceiling from strings, while the torso was pinned to the wall. There was a message left on the wall written in blood, '_come and find me_'. The view I was looking at caused me to go and vomit out the window. My hands were cut as I grabbed the broken glass left on the window sill, leaving blood on the glass. I go and see what the other damage was. The murderer left the murder weapon lying in the middle of the floor. Huh, well he was stupid. I crotch down and look at it. A huge machete. I touch the handle being hypnotized by the huge weapon. I stood back up, taking another look at the house. That's when I hear the sirens. I panic, and bolt for the window. I half run half trip down the stairs, successfully slipping on some of the vomit that had landed on the fire escape stairs. I ran down the street, half blinded by emotions and dirt. After about six blocks, i slowed down to a walking pace the rest of the way home. I went to the hose outside the orphanage once I got there. i washed my shoes off and my hands. The cuts burned and stung as the cool tap water ran over them. I clenched my teeth together as i dried them off on my shirt. I went inside the orphanage and changed out of my clothes. My shirt had small blotches of blood on the front of it, the stains caused me to throw away the piece of clothing. I went to bed, scared and traumatized from the scene I just witnessed. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping the whole nightmare will pass eventually.

After a couple of days, I thought that night was behind me, but apparently not when the cops show up at the orphanage entrance asking for me. They arrest me on the spot, saying that all of the evidence pointed to me. The people running the orphanage asked how they even got my fingerprints to compare the ones at the scene to. The officers respond that they got them from birth certificates and other documents, saying that they ran the fingerprints on a national scanner for everyone. They took me to the station and held me in a juvenile detention center until my trial date, hoping that the judge and the jury would believe that a ten year old wouldn't commit such a horrible crime. They didn't. They thought that a person that could and had the intention of committing such a horrible crime shouldn't be let out. They trialed me as an adult, and sentenced me to life in prison, with no chance of parole. They also didn't send me back to the juvenile detention center, saying that I can influence the other kids in there to do worse things when they get out.

I was sent to prison, with other criminals that were charged with similar crimes. The prison was a women's and a men's prison, with each gender at opposite of the prison. Being in there was a long living nightmare. Prisoners would beat and torment me nearly on a daily basis. I would quietly cry myself to sleep some nights, actually wishing i was back at the orphanage. I was on the guys side for a year when I was moved to a different cell in the facility for good behavior. A lot less rules, and they can trust us. But the guards put me in the women's good behavior facility. They thought that I would like it better if I was with the only other person my age. And they thought it would be better for me to be moved over there than for her to be moved over where I was. I was shocked to learn that there was actually another person my age here at the prison. I was a little skeptical to meet the kid at first, not knowing how they were going to act like . But i thought that they must not be that bad if they are in the good behavior facility. That's where I met Katniss, who was in for the same reason I was, murder. But the body of the man she was accused of killing wasn't chopped up, he was open surgically. All organs showing and everything. Her court didn't believe her either, with too much evidence against her. She was put in this prison a month before me. She was put in the good behavior facility after nine months. The whole incident happened four years ago, I'm fourteen, and still in prison.

I find Katniss talking to a group of other prisoners we have grown to know over the years. The women looked nothing like their personalities, with their corn rows' on top of their heads and with tattoos on their arms. These women are actually the nicest and coolest people I know. I go up to her from behind and tap on her shoulder. She turns her head and scoots down on the table bench. She pats the spot next to her and I gladly take it. She slides me a tray of food that she got for me already. I take a forkful of eggs when the other women at the table speak up.

"Hey Peeta" a few of them say in unison. I smile at them and shove more food into my mouth.

When I'm done with my tray, I throw my food away and stand by the table, gazing at Katniss as she talks to the women at the table. A few of the women take a notice of me and start talking to one another.

"What do you think he's thinking about"

"He's thinking about Katniss of course,"

"Oooo I think he has a crush,"

"Man, he's a goner already,"

They all erupt in laughter and move onto another topic of discussion. Do I like Katniss? Of course I do, but prison is definitely not the place for romance. Maybe one day I would be able to tell Katniss one day how I feel. I never knew that day would come so soon.

**What do you think? Tell me in the reviews. Follow and favorite! Until next time...**

**Jessica**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter for y'all! Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Peeta POV

"Do you think we will ever get out of here?" Katniss asks out of the blue.

I sit up in the bed I was laying on. The cell doors were still open and us inmates are just chilling around. So Katniss and I decide to go and talk in her cell, saying she wanted to touch up her hair in the tiny mirror she was able to get a few years ago.

"I don't think so. We are in here for life with no chance for parole ya know," I respond

"Yeah but I was hoping that they would probably let us out one of these days," she huffs

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh I don't know! Maybe they would have thought 'oh this person we are accusing for such a brutal crime was only ten years old. Maybe she didn't do it. We probably shouldn't have just arrested the first person we found fingerprints of'" she says, her voice rising in anger. She turns around and looks back at me, her arms crossed across her chest. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't a concerned neighbor and hadn't gone to check on him when I heard the noises. Then I wouldn't be in this place."

I get why she's angry. I was angry at myself for a long time for going to investigate if the people in that apartment were okay. My curiosity and concern got the best of me and it's the reason I'm here now. When you're in prison and locked up in a room for hours on end, you have a lot of time for thinking. And I have to say, there is not one day that goes by when I think about what my life would be if I haven't gone to investigate; if I have just gone home and minded my own business. I beat myself up mentally every time I think about it. And it hurts.

I open my arms for Katniss and she doesn't hesitate to get into them. She sits between my legs, her back pressed against my chest. I wrap my arms around her stomach and put my chin on her shoulder. I give her a reassuring squeeze before letting out a deep breath.

"I know I know, I think about it too. But we can't change anything now, so don't beat yourself up about it," I comforted. " But you know, there was one good thing that came out of it,"

She turns her head and gives me a questioning look

"Oh yeah? What could that possibly be?" she questions. I smirk at her and let out a small laugh

"You got me of course," I say she laughs and pushes my arm.

"I have to say that what you said has to be one of the downsides of coming here," she smirks as she gets up from my arms. I fake hurt by putting on my best pout face and putting my hand to my heart.

"Oh that hurt. Even more because you were definitely my favorite benefit of coming to the jail," I slightly whine. Katniss just laughs and ruffles my hair. She ruffles my hair like I'm some little kid sometimes, even though I'm older than her by a few months.

"No but seriously," she says, looking at me strait in the eye. "Do you ever wish that you could live the life of a normal teenager just for one day? To see what it's like. To experience other things that other teenagers face in their everyday lives?"

"Yeah I do," I tell her honestly. "But you know what, I promise that I would give you your wish of living like a normal teenager for a little while. I would give that to you one day."

Katniss gives me a smile and whispers thank you . She goes back to her hair in the mirror and I go to lying back on her bed. But not long after that do we hear a long alarm bell that signals us that it's time to go outside. Oh you got to love those bells. Katniss and I go into the flow of the other inmates and head out into the courtyard.

Yes Katniss and I hang out every chance we can in the jail, except for the courtyard. This is where we split, with her going to talk to some of the other inmates in the shade while I go lift weights and other exercises. Even though it's just prison, I still want to be physically fit. And doing these weights ever since I've gotten here has helped me build some muscle. I'm not bulky like wrestler buff, but I'm no longer scrawny either. And of course, I always have to do it with my shirt off, you know, not wanting to get a weird tan line and all. Oh you think otherwise? Fine, you caught me. I may work out to show off to Katniss what I can do. And to do it with my shirt off so that she can see what I have accomplished. I know that it works when Katniss takes extra interest when I jog around the fence perimeter of the courtyard.

But also when you jog the fence line of the prison, you find out a lot of things people aren't supposed to know. Like for one, there is a hole in the far back corner of the fence. It's a pretty small hole but not small enough to not let a person to get through. It probably got a hole because of all of the years of rusting. But I always act like it's not there; don't want to bring up suspicions. But I always go by every once in a while, to see if it's still there. It's the one thing that somehow gives me hope. That maybe one day I will get out of here, either by a retrial or by escaping. I just have a feeling that I'm going to get out of here with Katniss one way or another. I definitely wasn't leaving here without Katniss.

I see Katniss again when I go in for lunch. She is sitting at the same lunch table that we usually sit, but with no tray of food for me, so I go in line and get some.

"Your girlfriend has your food," the man serving lunch says. I give him an angered expression and respond.

"Katniss is not my girlfriend. And thank you," I walk off and go back to the table

I sit by Katniss and she hands me burger that she had on her lap. I give her a shocked expression on how she even got this food. They only give this type of food for death row last meals. How did she get a hold of this? She seemed to get my expression and answers the question.

"They were making burgers for death row inmates and made a couple extra for us two. They don't think that kids like us should be in here either, so they gave us these to brighten our moods. I had to put it in my lap so the other inmates wouldn't see it and try to steal it," she says.

"Well thank you for getting it for me. And I will have to thank the cooks later for this," I say and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The women sitting at our table all "aw" at my affection towards Katniss.

"See, I told you he was a goner," one shouted. The rest of them erupted in laughter.

I unwrapped the burger and bit into it. And it was good. It definitely did its job by brightening my mood this afternoon. But all too soon, we are summoned to go to our designated cells for the rest of the day until dinner. The inmates stream into their rooms and so do I, but stopping before I get there, turning to Katniss. I give her a hug and rest my head on top of hers while her head was on my chest. We linger for a while before we part, but my arms still around her and her hands still on my arms. We say the same things we say to each other every evening before we go into our separate rooms.

"If anything happens, because you know anything can happen in a prison, the first thing we do is find each other, and then never leave each other's side," I tell her. As always she nods and gives me another hug. We go into our separate rooms until eight to get dinner.

That night, after supper and the lights have gone off, I start to drift off to sleep. But I am awoken by a faded scream, like it was far away. I get up from my bed and go to my barred cell door.

"Katniss, did you hear that?" I ask

"Yeah," she responds a little scared

"Well whatever happens, we stick together, okay?"

"Okay," she responds

As if on cue, the alarms go off, and the door that separates our good behavior facility from the rest of the prison burst open. That's when the screaming starts.

**OOOO a cliff hanger! How am I doing so far? Go ahead and tell me in the reviews, anything helps. Tell me what you think what should happen next. Until next time**

**Jessica**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys and fellow readers! Here is another chapter for those that are reading and following this story! Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**

Chapter 3: Peeta POV

"KATNISS!" I try to yell over the screams and shouts of the prison, now gone rogue.

Everything is in chaos. Prisoners are running into our section of the prison, trying to invade. Prison guards start to come out of all corners, bearing guns and holding their batons. The prisoners weren't afraid to jump right at them. Everything goes by in slow motion at this point. Gun shots being fired, and prisoners going down. More prisoners come charging through the door, and the guards are getting outnumbered. The screams of guards become evident as they are taken down, and are slowly and painfully beaten to death, crying for mercy, like wives begging for their abusive husbands to stop.

The men and women from the worst parts of the prison start to go into the officer headquarters, a long bell sounds, and our doors slide open. The men prisoners go into the cells, forcing women out and onto their knees, others telling them to leave. Once my door is open, I immediately run out, stopping right in front of it, legs prepared to sprint, arms out. I scan the room, looking for her.

"KATNISS!" I yell into the chaos I hear nothing and immediately start to freak out. I start shoving through the crowd, trying to get to Katniss' room. It seems to take forever, even though her cell is only one room down. I finally reach the opening to her room, putting each of my hands on one side of the door frame. I look inside and I was frozen in place, too shocked by the scene that was playing in front of me. Katniss, arms guarded in front of her face, knees up against her chest. And a man, heavily printed with colorful tattoos, bulky arms, and a scruffy face, looming over Katniss. He grabs her arm with one hand while holding a baton in the other, and yells at her to loosen up, that the tenser you are, the more it's going to hurt.

"Please, no," Katniss whimpers.

The man starts to pull and tug on Katniss' shirt. That snapped me out of it.

"GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF OF HER!" I shout, my hands balled into fist. I'm breathing hard by this point, anger rising, my faced scrunched up.

The man looks up and looks at me and throws Katniss down, shifting his weight to each alternating foot, facing me, his fist also balled up. He looks at me strait in the eye, and smirks, showing yellow and rotting teeth.

"Oh yeah? Is this your girl? You don't like me touching your girl, huh little man?" he torments. He looks down back to Katniss who is curled up in a protective ball, afraid to move. The large man takes Katniss' arm and yanks her back up. "Well what are you gonna do about it?"

That tears it. I run up to the man at full speed, fist up, and punch him as hard as I can, square in the jaw. He stumbles back, but quickly regains his balance as he back kicks me in the stomach, sending me tripping back into the wall behind me. The tattooed criminal pinned me against the wall by his fore arm against my throat. He holds me still as he gets a good hit out of my jaw, sending blood to splatter against the wall. I hear Katniss scream my name as I fall to the floor. The man laughs at me while I'm on my hands and knees, and goes back to Katniss, his back turned. I take this as my chance to stand up and snatch the baton out of his hand, and get a good grip on it. He starts to turn around, but he doesn't get to do the full one eighty before I swing, the baton hitting him on the bridge of his nose. He yells in pain, stumbling backwards. I take another swing, going upward this time, hitting him under his chin. As his head flings back, the back of it smacks into the cell wall behind him. The sound of his skull cracking was clearly audible and evident, even over the noise and yelling happening outside the cell. The man's eyes roll back into his head, his eyelids covering them soon after, and slumps onto the floor, unconscious. I wish he was dead. No one is going to tough Katniss and live. I raise my hand with the baton again, and slam it again onto his head, causing blood to splatter from his ears, mouth, and nose. I go to raise it again but it's interrupted by a hand, firmly gripped on my wrist. I turn my head to meet gray eyes, red and wet from crying, and with a terrified look in them.

"Stop it! He's dead," she says. She lowers my hand and her grip loosens. I give her a slight nod before turning back to the dead man on the floor. I gather enough spit and blood from my mouth and spit it on him. I turn back to Katniss and envelop her into my arms. She wraps her arms around my waist, with my arms around her shoulders.

"Are you okay, Katniss? Did he hurt you?" I ask, worried.

"No, he didn't do any damage. He probably would have if you have come any later," she answers.

We hear a crash outside in the riot that was going on. We turn our heads and look back at each other.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here," I tell Katniss

"No let's just stay here, close the cell door and lock ourselves in here in safety,"

"Are you crazy? If we stay, we are going to get ourselves killed!" I yell. "We need to get out of here."

We needed to get out of here, and fast. The number of guards was quickly decreasing, and not that many people left to try reining the criminals back in order. Anyone could escape if they wanted, and I mean anyone. Anyone…. Katniss and I could escape. We could escape and get the life we rightfully deserved. Get to live like normal teenagers. We could get our lives back.

"We could escape," I say to Katniss. "You can get the life you've always wanted."

"I don't know-"

"Come on! What do we have to lose? We are in here for life with no chance for parole anyway, how are they going to punish us even more? What is there to think about Katniss?" I yell, getting frustrated.

She sighs, taking a deep breath before running her hands through her hair. She gives me a nod. I take her hand and practically drag her to the door. I stand at the mouth of the door and think fast. Where the inmates were coming in has ceased.

"This way," I yell at Katniss behind me.

She runs after me, cluing in that the direction I was going in was the door, and started to pick up the pace. I shove through the crowd, with my baton still in hand. But I don't go with the other prisoners towards the main entrance; I head in the totally opposite direction.

"Where are we going? Out is the other way," Katniss shouts

"That's where all of the guards will be and arriving back up. We don't want to go into that mess," I explain. "I know another way out."

Katniss and I go out onto the courtyard, which is now deserted of prisoners…and guards. After checking the coast was clear, I pull Katniss again towards the far corner of the fence. Dust clouds were forming behind us as we ran across the terrain. I stop for a moment and pull back the rusted part of the fence. It easily broke away, caused by the years of weather and ware.

"Crawl under," I motion.

She crawls under and I follow suit soon after. We reach the second fence, and Katniss and I look up. Katniss gives a questioning look, and I give her a look back that tells her just to copy me. I start to climb the fence, and quickly hop over. I look up to see that Katniss is at the top, afraid to jump down. It is a fifteen foot high fence. I stick my arms out, saying that I would catch her. She just shakes her head.

"Come on, I will catch you. Don't you trust me?" I call up to her.

She nodded without hesitation, and then finally jumps down. I catch her in my arms and after a moment, I put her on her feet. We both take deep breaths; and take each other's hands before running off again. There are a few things that the person who decided to build a prison. One, they should make sure that the people keep up with the fence maintenance. Two, don't make it a half mile outside a dense woods. And three, don't make it only 10 miles outside a major city.

Katniss and I run towards the woods, the whole half mile. We don't stop the whole way. I mean, you wouldn't stop when you're running for your life.

Once we reach the woods, that's when we stop to breathe. I collapse on my back, lying on a pile of brown crunchy leaves. Katniss falls next to me, breathing just as heavily. We lay there for about half an hour before we both agree that we have to start moving again. We walk for about eight miles before we decide to stop for the night. We ascend a tree and find a good fork branch to sleep in. I sit against the tree trunk, with Katniss sitting between my legs, her head resting against my shoulder.

"We did it. We escaped. We actually escaped," Katniss whispers in shock

"Yeah, we did it," I say back. She snuggles closer into me and soon falls asleep. I kiss the top of her head and wrap my arms around her. We actually did it. Wow, we actually escaped from prison.

**OMG THEY ESCAPED! Now I know I did three chapters in two days, but do not expect that as a regular. I've just had no homework this week. But I will update at least four to five times a week. Depends on how much homework I have. Reviews are appreciated. Ideas are also welcomed. But until next time…**

**Jessica**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey my fellow readers! Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, and favorite my story. It means so much! It made my day. So now I give you chapter 4, ENJOY!**

Chapter 4 Peeta POV

I wake to a face full of hair the next morning. My vision is obstructed by a halo of dark brown hair, and I start to panic, but soon calm down when all of the events from the past day come rushing back into my head. We escaped a prison, and practically unharmed. I let a smile take over my face as the realization settles in. I also remember that we fell asleep in a tree, but Katniss' head was on my shoulder. How did her hair get in my face? I just figured that I just slumped down in my sleep. I confirm my suspicion when I feel a breeze on my stomach, telling me that my shirt has ridden up. I would try to sit up, but I don't want to disturb Katniss in her sleep. I crane my neck to the side to see if I accidentally woke her. I relax when I see her peacefully sleeping. She looked younger in her sleep, like the years of prison just washed off of her face and all that it left was innocence and beauty. Her breathing was slow and even, her lips slightly apart. I straiten my neck back out and lay back against the tree.

I think of our near future, like sleeping arrangements and clothes . Someone is going to report us to the authorities if they see us in these clothes. I mean how often do you see a boy and a girl dressed in the same baggy clothes? Little to never that's when. And we can't sleep in trees forever. For one, It's very uncomfortable. Two, if I want to keep my promise I gave to Katniss, we are going to have to sleep in a room, in an apartment, a house, somewhere other than outside. I'm going to teach Katniss how to steal, too. And I know she's not going to like it, probably because she's never stolen or even taken a toy without permission ever. But we are a couple of kids without money, we will need to get our necessities one way or another.

My thoughts were interrupted by when I feel a small vibration under my hands. I look at my hands and realize that they are still over Katniss' stomach. She must be hungry. It is breakfast time, with the sun just peaking over the horizon. We will have to get food also. I know Katniss would feel less guilty of taking that is she is extra hungry. I know I wouldn't. I wrap my arms around her a little bit tighter and kiss her head.

"Oh don't worry, I will get you some food soon," I whisper into her hair, near her ear. "Oh how am I going to tell you about what I have planned for us?"

"What do you have planned for us," she asks.

I curse myself mentally for waking her, but I quickly get over it. She sits up a little in my arms, I take this chance to sit up myself. She rubs her eyes and yawns before turning her upper body a little to get a better look at me. I explain on how we are going to get our food, shelter, and clothes. And as I predicted, she immediately starts shaking her head in disagreement.

"No. I won't do that," she argues

"Well how else are we supposed to get the things we need, huh? We don't have any money," I argue back.

She burrows her eyebrows, knowing I'm right. She lets out a deep breath before agreeing.

"Fine. I don't know how you're going to do all of this, but I trust you," she huffs. I give her a smile before hugging her.

We climb down from the tree and make out way towards the direction we were heading in the day before. I just hope we don't see any animals, and when I say animals, I mean the viscous ones that are out for blood and kills. My biggest fear right now is that something hurts Katniss. I don't know what I would with myself if something were to happen to Katniss. I would probably never forgive myself. And also, the last thing I need are injuries right now. I'm on edge for any dangers for the next five miles, but when I don't see anything, I start to let my guard down, letting myself believe that nothing is going to happen. I start to do tricks with the baton I have managed to keep with me since the escape. I manage to do a few twirls with it in my hand, but I also successful with also hitting myself with it. This earns me a smile and a few giggles from Katniss. This gives the same flip flops in my stomach I get every time I see Katniss smile or laugh. I do a half smile in embarrassment and blush. Katniss and I walk in silence for a little while, just enjoying the autumn weather, the view, and just…freedom. I haven't felt freedom in such a long time, and….and it feels really good. To be able to whatever I want, whenever I want. I bet Katniss is thinking about the same thing.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" I ask Katniss. She gives a confused look in return.

"What feels good?"

"Freedom. To be able to enjoy this day outside a prison."

Katniss stops for a second, then takes a deep breath through her nose and letting it out. Then she continues walking.

"Yeah it does," she says.

We walk for about another mile, talking about our lives before the prison. I was talking to her about one of my only friends, when I hear a low growl from behind me. I fell Katniss immediately grab my hand. We turn around to be met with three wild dogs. All of them have gray fur and are all scraggily looking. Katniss and I go rigid, to scared and drowned in fear to move. But I won't let these dogs hurt Katniss. I swallow my fear and whisper to Katniss.

"Go up the tree. I will take care of these dogs."

She gives me a scared and concerning look. But soon she hurries to the nearest tree and scales halfway up before stopping on a branch. I turn back to the dogs, which are now in jumping distance, in attack stance. I grip the baton as much as I can and prepare to attack. One jumps at me, and I swing, snapping its neck as my baton came in contact with its neck. It whimpers once before lying still. A second dog jumps, and I wasn't prepared for it. It pins me to the ground, snapping its mouth at my face. I punch the dog in the face, its teeth giving me bloody scratches on my hand. It gets knocked off of me and the third don jumps on me, and I swing, but only hitting this one in the leg. It whines in pain and tries to get back up, with many failed attempts. The second dog has gotten back up and is coming back at me. I raise my arm and hit this one in the head, knock it out cold. I look back at the remaining wolf and it cowers, slowly limping off into the distance.

Before I can even tell Katniss that it was safe to come down, she was already in my arms, hugging me tightly. I hug her back and tell her that I'm okay. That I'm fine. She soon releases me, but not completely, by grabbing my hand before continuing on. I smile knowing that Katniss was holding my hand. The same flip flops happen in my stomach as we walk. Katniss holds onto my hand tightly, and I return it with the same amount of pressure. I can tell that Katniss was a little shaken up by the whole incident by the way she was on guard. She was on better guard that I was earlier this morning. I think that she wants to give me a warning the next time there is any animals or any type of danger. But soon, we reach a part of the forest where the trees aren't nearly as dense, like a tree every fifteen to twenty feet instead of every three to five feet. This means that we are nearing the city. I know that the nearest city to the prison was Gotson. Gotson is a decent sized urbanized city in southwest Texas. I saw the town as the prison bus drove through the city before getting to the prison.

"We are almost to the city," I tell Katniss. She nods at me before looking down at the ground again.

We keep trudging through the forest until we reach a small clearing. Katniss and I keep walking to what appears to be a cliff. When we get close, we see that it's an overlook of Gotson. I hear Katniss gasp at the sight. It's about noon now and the sun is high in the sky, illuminating the city perfectly.

"It's beautiful," Katniss breathes

"I know," I respond. We just stand there for a few moments before I speak up again.

"Ready to enter the city?" I ask her. She gives my hand a reassuring grasp before she turns to me.

"Ready."

**Another chapter completed! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Oh and I made up the town of Gotson, but if there is a town named Gotson, i would be surprised. Review and tell me what you think. They make my day. Follow and favorite! :D Until next time…**

**Jessica**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey my readers! Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, and favorite! It made my day, knowing that people like my story. I'm still taking ideas to whoever submits them, they are greatly appreciated. I want to know what my readers should think should happen next! But I won't hold you for any longer. ENJOY THE NEW CHAPTER!**

Chapter 5: Peeta POV

Katniss and I walk into this city with our eyes wide, capturing everything in our sight. Katniss still holds onto my hand for support, and I don't ask her about it. I need the support as much as she needs it. Plus, I like the feeling of her hand in mine, small hands in large ones.

Now that we are in the city, first things first; we need some new clothes. Who knows how long we are going to be walking before someone gets suspicious.2  
We are going to have to steal the clothes, since we are a couple a broke kids freshly escaped from jail. But the question is, where do we get our clothes from? I know that, since I'm a guy, I don't care where I get my clothes from. But I bet Katniss has a few preferences she would like to shop, even though we are nowhere close to the position to be picky about where we shop. But I promised Katniss a life to be normal, like a teenager she never got to be.

"So, we need to get some clothes before the news about two, life-sentenced for murder and gruesome torture, criminals escaped gets out to the public," I say to Katniss. "So where do you want to get clothes?"

She puts her free hand up to her chin as she looks up to the sky, thinking. She looks back at me before speaking.

"Anywhere?" she asks. I nod. I mean we are stealing it, so does it really matter where we get our clothes from?

She goes back to thinking, knitting her eyebrows together. I laugh at the act of her thinking long and hard about this.

"If I had to choose three places, I would want to go to Forever 21, Aeropostale, and Wal-Mart," she says

"Wal-Mart?" I question to her. I thought girls didn't like shopping at Wal-Mart.

"Yeah. They have all of the comfortable clothes there, like graphic tees, sweatshirts and sweatpants, and I need a pair of comfortable shoes if we are going to do all of this walking,"

I look down at her shoes, which are torn and worn out. They look just like my own. I look back up at Katniss and give her a nod, confirming that we can go to those places. She gives me a smile looks back to in front of her.

We walk into a gas station and we ask the person behind the counter directions to the nearest Wal-Mart. We were actually really close. The man told us that it was just about a mile down the street. We thank the man and leave. We walk the remaining mile before we reach the store parking lot. Katniss stops towards the back of the parking lot. I turn back to her and see that she has a scared look on her face. I go back to her and pull her in for a hug, knowing that she will need some comfort and that this will be tough for her. She buries her head into my chest, because that's all it can go to. She may be tough, but she's only about 5'4". She looks even smaller compared to my bulky 5'8" body.

"I can't do this, Peeta," she says into my chest. "What if we get caught?"

"We are not going to get caught. I have done this hundreds of times. They don't give you much when you live in an orphanage," I say

"Are you sure," she asks

"I promise."

She pulls away, gaining courage. She grabs my hand again and we walk into the store. We walk to Katniss' section first, both knowing that she is going to take longer. She grabs a few pairs of jeans and goes to try them on. I argue about her trying them on, but then she tells me that what is the point of illegally taking clothes if they don't fit. And that she hasn't bought clothes since she was she was ten, she doesn't know what size she is. I give into her reasoning and let her try on the jeans. We find out that she wears a size seven. I was glad that she wasn't totally starving an wasn't bony under those prison clothes. She grabs a few pair that are a size seven and grab a few of the comfortable clothes Katniss mentioned earlier. We head off into my section, and we separate. I'm looking at a rack of basketball shorts when Katniss comes to me, with a few shirts in her hands. She hands them to me and I give her a questioning look.

"Go try those on," she orders. I raise one eyebrow at her and she wraps her arms around my neck.

"Please Peeta? For me?" she pouts, sticking out her bottom lip and looking up at me. I laugh at the look on her face and give in.

"Okay, for you," I tell her.

She squeals a thank you before hugging me. She also gives me an unexpected kiss on my cheek. Before I could even process what just happened, she runs off, saying that she is going to get a few pairs of jeans to try on. I go try the clothes on, and I have to say, she did a pretty good job on my jeans and shirts. We change into a pair of the clothes we got, making sure all of the tags were off. Katniss did a good job on finding jeans that didn't have the security tags on them. I take the clothes and we carry them to the backpack section, grabbing huge backpacks to stuff our clothes in later. We grab some necessities like toiletries and a pair of sneakers. We stuff all of our clothes into the backpacks and sling them onto out backs. This is where it gets tricky. What I have done before was snuck through the warehouse door in the back, but I always went when they were getting new shipments, so the doors were open. But I didn't check before we came in here. They could be getting a shipment right now, it is around one, a good time to get deliveries.

"C'mon, we are going out of the warehouse door," I tell Katniss, grabbing her hand. She doesn't question as she followed me. We go to the back of the store before I check to see if anyone is around. Once it was clear, we swiftly sneak into the back. And to my luck, they were getting deliveries. We just walk right out of one of the open gates. Once we are out of sight of the Wal-Mart, I turn to Katniss.

"See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" I ask

"No, no it wasn't" she smiles

On the way to the Wal-Mart, I saw that there was an outdoor mall a few streets down. Katniss and I walk to the mall. I ask Katniss which of the two remaining stores she wanted to go to next. She said that we would go to whichever store we ran up to first, which happened to be Aeropostale. We walk inside and are greeted by a woman in her mid-twenties.

"Hello and welcome to Aeropostale! How can I help out you and your girlfriend here?" she asks, referring to our interlaced hands. Katniss blushes out of embarrassment and let's go of my hand. I immediately miss the feeling of her hand in mine, but I try to brush it off and to lighten the mood.

"Man I wish she was my girlfriend," I say wrapping my arm around her shoulders loosely. "But she's not my girlfriend. And no, we don't need any help, thank you."

She tells that if we do need anything, she will always be available, and leaves. We walk to Katniss' junior section, and Katniss immediately starts to pick out clothes. She goes to one of the dressing rooms and tries the clothes on. I sit on a couch that happened to be right outside her dressing room door.

"Are you ready to show me?" I ask

"No," she simply states. "I don't think I look good in them."

"Please, for me?" I use on her

"Fine," I hear her say.

She moves the curtain and shows me what she was wearing. She is simply wearing short shorts and a maroon Aeropostale shirt, but she makes it look amazing. All I have ever seen her wear are baggy prison clothes that don't show any of her body, so I've never really seen what her body shape looks like. So seeing her legs exposed, her hips and the curve of her waist showing, and her chest showing, it's a real shock to get over. You couldn't even tell that Katniss had a good D-sized chest under those baggy clothes_. Stop looking at her chest, Peeta, that's ungentlemanly of you, _I think. But I sit there open mouthed as she stands before me. I don't know how long I have been sitting there like that but it must have been long since Katniss spoke up and took me out of my trance.

"Say something! What do you think?" she asks me. I close my mouth before answering her.

"You look beautiful, as always. It looks really great on you," I respond, half unconsciously. _You look beautiful as always, how could you let that slip_, I mentally scold myself. She blushes and puts some hair behind her ear, looking down slightly.

"Thanks Peeta, I'll get it," she says before going back into the dressing room. Katniss gets a few more pairs of shorts and shirts. Thinking that I have enough jeans, I grab a few different types of cargo shorts and try those on. I come out to show Katniss to get her opinion. She told me that they looked good, but I had to turn around. When I do, I don't hear anything, so without turning my lower body, I look over my shoulder. I see Katniss biting her bottom lip, staring at….my butt? I smirk at the realization of that's why she wanted me to turn around.

"Like what you see," I smirk.

She looks up at me, still biting her lip. The look sends butterflies into my stomach, but I keep my composure.

"I was just checking if it was too tight in the back. And it's not, it looks good," she tries to cover up.

"Mmmhmmm, sure," I say sarcastically. "You just wanted to look at my butt. Admit it."

I start sticking my butt out at her and wiggling it from side to side. She laughs and smacks my butt away. She tells me to change. We do the same routine with the sneaking out the back employees only door with this and the next store we went to. By the time we have gotten all of our clothes, our backpacks are stuffed and is nearing six in the afternoon.

"So where are we going to sleep for the night," Katniss asks me.

"I've already gotten that taken care of," I tell her reassuringly.

Our next mission, finding a comfortable bed to sleep in without getting caught.

**FINISHED with this chapter! This is my longest chapter yet with almost two thousand words. Tell me what you think in the reviews! Until next time…**

**Jessica**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey my fellow readers! I'm here with another chapter for y'all! I have to say that this has been my favorite chapter to write. I hope y'all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. ENJOY!**

Chapter 6: Peeta POV

"Are you sure we aren't going to get caught?" Katniss asks nervously.

"Yeah I'm positive, I have done this plenty of times before," I respond quickly.

Right now Katniss and I are outside an apartment door, trying to undo the lock with two metal pins. I've been struggling with it for about ten minutes now and I'm starting to get nervous. It has never taken me this long to undo a lock. My eyebrows are knit together tight, so tight that I'm afraid that if I hold it any longer, I would have permanent creases in my forehead.

"Why is it taking so long?" Katniss questions

"I don't know. This one is tough," I say back.

I'm about to give up in frustration when I hear a soft click. I turn my hands and the lock comes with it. I smile in satisfaction before I pull on the door handle and the door opens. I peek through the door to see if anyone lives in this apartment. As I suspected, no one lives in this room. I swing the door open and look back at Katniss, giving her a smirk of a smile. She rolls her eyes at me as I stand up. I stand off to the side and gesture my arms towards the room, the palms of my hands facing up.

"Ladies first" I say

"About time you got that door open," she playfully nagged, walking in through the door.

"Well then, your welcome," I retort as I walk into the room, grabbing my bag from the floor. I close the door and lock it from behind me. I turn from the door to see Katniss, admiring the room, slowly spinning in a circle.

"This room is beautiful," she whispers. "How did you know that it wouldn't be occupied?"

"Well for one I just guessed on this room," I begin. "But I also was thinking that apartments were like hotels, the higher you go up the building, the nicer and more expensive the rooms get, and the more likely no one is going to be occupying them."

She nods at my reasoning. She goes to the bedroom to set her stuff down, with me following her. She stops at the doorway. I appear behind her soon after. She was blushing.

"What's the matter?" I ask confused.

"There is only one bed, Peeta," she states.

I look into the room, to find one king sized bed. I'm actually surprised to find a bed in the apartment. I thought we were going to be sleeping on the floor, or I was sleeping on the floor and she would be sleeping on the couch that came with the room.

"Man this is one expensive room if it came with a bed and a living room set. No wonder no one is living in this room," I say to no one in particular. I enter the room and set my bag down on the bed. I look up at Katniss to see that her eyes have gone wide. I realized that the statement she said earlier was an unasked question.

"Oh! I'll sleep in the couch. You can sleep on the bed," I blurted awkwardly, picking up my bag and slinging it back on my back. I start to walk out of the room when I'm stopped by Katniss' hand on my chest.

"No need. You can sleep in here, Peeta. I don't mind," she decided.

"Are you sure?" I ask. She nods.

I go back into the room and set my stuff down, and she does the same. I tell her that she can go take her a shower or a bath first. She thanks me before grabbing some pajamas she got from Wal-Mart before going to take a shower. I wonder why she even got pajamas; I mean we really didn't need them. But I guess she just wanted a pair of them. I go through my bag and pick out a pair of boxers and a pair of basketball shorts I've gotten from Wal-Mart also and lay them on the bed. When I lay my clothes on the bed, that's when I notice that the bed is just a mattress, no blankets or pillows. Well I think that is they have a bed, I bet they have extra sheets and pillows. I was proven right when I walk to the closet and see one bed sheet, a comforter, and four pillows. On the shelf the sheets and pillows were hanging on was a note that read "_Just in case you haven't unpacked that box yet". _I take the sheets and lay them on the bed. I make up the bed for Katniss and I. by the time I'm done, Katniss has come out the shower. She was wearing very short gray pajama shorts with a form fitting camisole. I gulp as I look at her exposed legs, the curve of her hips and the inward curve of her waist. I shake my head and look up at Katniss, who evidently had her arms crossed over her chest and was smirking at me. Man she has been doing that a lot lately.

"Like what you see," she grinned. I don't answer as I walk past her into the shower. I hear her laugh as I close the door. I take my shower and wash my hair. After a long two days on the run, it feels good to take a nice warm shower. I dry off and dress into my boxers and basketball shorts. I usually don't wear a shirt to bed, even at the prison; I get too hot in them.

I step out of the bathroom and close the door behind me still towel drying my hair. I feel happy to see that the roles are reversed this time and I find Katniss biting her bottom lip, looking at my chest and abs.

"Are you done staring at the definition of stunning?" I joke. She just scoffs and moves to get under the covers. I turn off the light and get under the covers.

"Goodnight," she yawns

"Good night," I say back. Katniss turns over to her side, with her back to me. I decide to tease her by scooting close into her and wrap my arm around her waist, spooning her. I bury my head into the back of her neck and sigh deeply.

"Scoot over, Peeta," she says tiredly.

"Why? I'm so comfortable," I retort.

"Because I can feel you against my butt,"

That's when I realized that getting this close to Katniss has aroused me and that she is feeling me. I quickly unwrap my arm from around her and scoot away.

"Sorry," I apologize.

"It's fine," she says. And with that, we go to sleep.

When I wake up in the morning, I'm on my back. Katniss is laying her head on my chest, her arm wrapped around me. My arm is around her waist and I feel that our legs are tangled together down by the end of the bed. It feels so good to have her lying in my arms so right as if she was meant to go there, like the last puzzle piece. I kiss the top of her head and try to get out of bed, but she moans in protest and wraps her arm tighter around me. I laugh quietly and scoot closer to her. She snuggles into me and sighs deeply. I'll just wait for her to wake up then. I lay there for about ten minutes before she start to stir in the bed. She yawns adorably before opening her eyes. She begins to realize where she is and jumps up from my arms.

"Why did you put me there?" she demands. I put my hands up in surrender and open my mouth.

"Hey you got there all by yourself. And in my defense, when I tried to get up, YOU tightened your grip on me, so I didn't move." I defend. She rolls her eyes and gets out of bed. I get out of bed and go out into the hallway to steal a neighbor's newspaper. I bring it inside and read it on the couch, being soon accompanied by Katniss with some canned food we have gotten from the store. The first thing I see is a huge advertisement for the county fair.

"Can we go to that?" Katniss asks, her mouth full of peaches.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I decided. She smiles and goes to the bedroom to change.

I check the ad again for details. I find out that it's the first day open, so kids under the age of 18 get in free today before 2. I tell Katniss the plans when she emerges from the room. She said that we could leave in fifteen minutes, which gave me enough time to get ready. We leave our stuff in the room, pretty sure that the room would still be unoccupied when we come back. We ask the person at the front desk of the apartment building for directions. He prints them out for us and we realize that its only about a half hour walk. We thank the man and leave.

Later we arrive at the fair, it's a pretty big fair; more like a carnival it's so big. Katniss and I walk in and we sit down on a bench.

"How are we going to get to do anything? Everything needs tickets and tickets cost money, which we have none of," I say to Katniss. She digs into her pocket and puts twenty dollars into my hand. I look back at her in shock.

"When did you get this?" I exclaimed.

"Yesterday. I found it on the ground when you were in the bathroom," she states casually.

I just shake my head and go stand in line. I spend half of the money for fifty tickets. I turn back to Katniss' direction to see that now she was standing up by the fence that separates the parking lot from the carnival. She is leaning against the fence talking to a boy, laughing and grinning. I immediately feel jealousy, but that is quickly replaced with anger when this dark haired boy puts his hand on Katniss' hip. I see Katniss take his hand off of her and drop it, trying to be nice and gave him a smile. I see him give a smirk and I hear a faded "C'mon girl" from that direction. He puts his hand on her hip again and tries to pull her close. I can't watch it anymore as I stomp over there and yank his arm down.

"Can't you take a hint? She doesn't want you touching her," I spit at him

"Oh c'mon, we were just talking," he says "Just having a little bit of fun weren't we?" he moves to put his hand on her hip for a third time when I harshly smack it away.

"Don't touch her," I practically yell at him. His expressions darkens to anger as he straitens himself up.

"Or what?" he tests. But before I can do anything, a security guard has come up to us. We must have been keeping up a commotion.

"Is there a problem?" the officer asks sternly

"No," I say "In fact, this guy was just about to leave."

We both look at the dark haired boy who had the same skin tone as Katniss. He grunts something before walking off. The officer walks away from the situation. I turn back to Katniss, who surprisingly looks angry. She roughly shoves her hands into my chest.

"WHAT THE HELL PEETA!" she yells, her eyes hard.

I know I did something wrong now. She only cusses when she gets really mad. I have only heard her swear twice.

"What? I was only protecting you," I argue back

"We were only talking dammit!"

"No he was flirting! HE WAS ONLY TRING TO GET INTO YOUR PANTS!"

"So what, I can't be flirted at? You're not my dad Peeta. Why are you so protective?"

"Because, because I-"

"Because what? And I know your blonde ass doesn't looks the hell like my dad, Peeta! I am damn well enough to take care of myself! Whats the hell is your excuse, Peeta?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU DAMMIT!"

I turn from her looking to the sky, running my hand through my hair. I put my hands on my hips and look to the ground.

"Yo-You love me?" she says softly.

"Yeah I do, a lot. And that guy may have looked like he was interested in you but all he wanted to do was to de-flower you and-," I was cut off when Katniss puts her lips to mine. I'm in shock at first but I soon melt into the kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck while my arms go to her waist. She pulls back all too soon, but only a few inches from my face.

"Why didn't you tell me or say anything?" she asks

"Well maybe because prison isn't the place for stuff like that," I smile.

"Well you should have, you'll never know, maybe she'll love you back," she said.

"You love me back?" I ask. She nods her head.

"I have for a long time now."

I pull her in for another kiss and she happily grants me with one with the same amount of emotion. We pull back and she grabs onto my hand. We enjoy the park rides and game stands for a few hours. Katniss wanted to ride the Ferris wheel before we left, so that was our last stop.

We were in our little kart when it stops with us at the very top. I look over to the girl that I have my arm around. She has a huge stuffed animal in her arms. I won that for her at a booth, she said that she had to have it. The toy reminds me when the man asked if I was winning it for my girlfriend next to me. I was glad that I was able to reply yes.

"This is the best day of my life," I say. Katniss looks up at me with those stunning gray eyes.

"Really? Why does it top the other days of your life?" she asks

"Well because for one, I'm not in an orphanage or in prison. And the most stunning, drop dead gorgeous, smartest, funniest, coolest, and the most beautiful person not only became my girlfriend today, but also said that she loves me back," I say proudly, unable to tame the smile that has taken over my face.

She blushes and scoots closer.

"This is the best day for me, too." She says.

"I love you, Katniss,"

"I love you, too, Peeta,"

We kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel until it starts to move again. We head out of the park and see the dark haired boy again. He was surrounded by a couple of other boys this time, probably his friends. He smirked at Katniss and then gestured to himself, saying that she can still get him. Katniss looked back at him and gave him a smirk as well. Katniss then turned around and gave me a kiss full on the mouth. she pulled back a moment later and smirked back at the boy, who now had an angered frown on his face. He stormed off with his friends not so far in trail.

"Well that showed him huh," Katniss said

"And what exactly were you trying to show him?" I questioned

"That I don't want him. That I'm already taken. That I have a boyfriend who already loves me," she stated.

Well ain't that the truth.

**AAWWWWW! I loved writing this chapter. I'm starting on the next chapter as you read this. I may be able to post it but it may be late tonight. Review and tell me what you think. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello my fellow readers! I'm here with another chapter! I really hope y'all are enjoying this story. Read and review! ENJOY!**

Chapter 7: Peeta POV

The next few days have been pure bliss. Katniss and I haven't left the apartment much, other to get more food and other important things. We watched television on the TV that also came with the room. I found out these past few days that I love crime shows and sci-fi movies, while Katniss loves reality TV such as real housewives and swamp people. I wonder how she even knows half the things they say on swamp people if it weren't for the subtitles.

We get to learn the lazy side of being a teenager, just sitting around and just enjoying each other's company. I bet that if we had parents, they would be yelling at us, telling us that we did nothing productive all day today.

But we also experimented with the hormonal teenager, which is my personal favorite. We act like we would die if we were apart for five minutes. Like one time, I went to the corner store to steal a few canned foods to add to our dwindling supply of food, and when I got back, as soon I walked back into the apartment; Katniss nearly knocked me over as she slammed into me, pressing her lips to mine. We ended up kissing for the next ten minutes after that. When we pulled away I asked her why she was so excited to see me, she said that she just missed me. I don't blame her; I missed her, too, even though it was only for ten minutes. Just knowing that this amazing girl wants to be with me, wants to be my girlfriend, wants me to be her boyfriend, and that this girl feels the same way that I feel for her, makes me want to be with her all the time. She makes me feel like I am constantly in a dream. When I am by myself, I pinch myself to make sure I'm awake, that this isn't some really realistic and prolonged dream.

Katniss and I decided a few days after the day at the fair that we have stayed inside long enough. We change accordingly to the Texas weather, which is in the mid-90s today. We decided to roam the town and just hang out. I honestly don't see the point if we cannot buy anything. But Katniss says that it's fun, so I just go along with it.

We are on the outskirts of a community park when Katniss sees a way to get money. There was a man at a booth, waving his arms around and shouting to get people's attention.

"C'mon and give it a try. Give me three dollars, if you can shoot a bulls-eye in one shot, I will give you a 100 dollar bill," the man shouts.

Man, it's near impossible to hit the target in the center in one try. Before I can express to Katniss how ridiculous that scam is, she is already handing the man some leftover money we had from the fair we went to. By the time I get over there, she is already on one knee, aiming at the target. She shoots and I hear a thud as the bullet went through the target. Katniss and I look at the target, seeing where she hit the target. Bulls-eye. We look back to the man, who has his mouth hanging wide open. He probably thought that he scammed a teenage girl of three bucks. The man turns to us and closes his mouth.

"Well, well, we got a shooter here now don't we," he says.

"Where is the money I won," Katniss demands.

The man reaches into his pocket and hands over a 100 dollar bill. Katniss takes it and puts it into her pocket while she pulls out the last of our one dollar bills. She hands them to the man.

"I want three more shots," she says. The man gives Katniss three more bullets and goes to change our target for a new one. Katniss loads her gun like she has been doing it for years and positions herself to shoot. POP! One bulls-eye. POP! There goes a second one. POP! And that's the last bulls-eye. Katniss smirks and sticks her hand out towards the man. He reluctantly pulls out three more 100 dollar bills and slaps them into her hand.

Katniss shoves one more into her pocket and hands the other two to me to keep. I put them into my pocket and jog to catch up with Katniss, who has walked ahead of me.

"How did you do that back there? Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I ask in awe.

"My dad and I used to go hunting all of the time. I was really good," she answered proudly.

"And your dad let you use a gun at the age of ten?" She nods. I just shake my head at her. She giggles and takes my hand.

We continue to walk the trails of the park until we decide to rest on a bench. I sit and pull Katniss onto my lap. She giggles and puts her hands onto each side of my face. She leans in and kisses me for the millionth time today. And I have to say that those aren't even enough for me. She slides off my lap and sits next to me on the bench. I put my arm around her shoulder and take a deep breath. We stay quiet for a few moments, just enjoying the day.

"What do you want to do when you get older?" I say, trying to start a conversation.

"I don't know. I do not have a strong passion to do something in particular," she said. "But I know that I want to be married, and have kids one day."

"Really?" I say. "You seem like the person who wouldn't want kids. Like they are too much of a hassle."

"No. actually I think kids are really special. It's the actually the only thing that I see myself as right now at this point and time. Like if I imagine myself in the future, I see myself watching my kids play on a porch swing, sitting next to my husband," she tells me

"Who do you see as your husband?" I ask hopeful

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," she smirks and gets up from the bench. "C'mon, it's getting late."

We leave the park and go back to our room. Katniss and I are relaxing for the night when something on the news.

"Breaking news: two escaped convicts are on the loose from jail. There was a prison riot at Gotson prison and the two convicts, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, were able to escape. These two prisoners may be kids but they are deadly, both convicted for gruesome murders which include dissecting and chopping their victims," they show our pictures on the screen as the lady continues. "They could be anywhere in the Gotson city area or in the outside boundaries. If you have seen these kids, call the local authorities immediately."

I turn off the television and turn to Katniss.

"We need to get out of here, now," I urge. She nods and we rush to pack our stuff.

Once all of our packs are full of our belongings, we walk out of our apartment door. Our plan to walk out the front doors like we belong there is backfired when we see two cops down the hall with the man that is usually at the front desk.

"There they are, the kids you are looking for," he says pointing at us.

All of us stand frozen for a couple of seconds before Katniss and I scramble to our room. We slam the door behind us and lock the two locks that are on the door. Katniss and I push the couch and the TV set in front of the door.

"Fire escape," I tell her. She nods and we rush to the window. I yank it open and step to the side, letting Katniss go first. Katniss was halfway out the window when the cops were banging on the door. I step out onto the fire escape and I look back for a second. They were breaking the hinges off the door. I decided that I took enough stalling time and shut the window.

When I made it to the bottom of the stairs, Katniss was there waiting on me. She grabs onto my shirt and pulls me in for a kiss.

"Just in case we get split up somehow," she says. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She takes my hand and we bolt off running. We made a mistake of going towards the front of the apartment complex. We caught the sight of a few backup officers in their cars. We run even faster as the cop cars roar to life and chase after us. We shuffle our feet and run in the opposite direction. Katniss and I turned a corner, kicking up our speed as we were temporarily out of the sight of the officers. Katniss' hair was flowing strait behind her as the wind was pushing it back. I soon heard tires screeching not so far behind me as Katniss and I clipped yet another corner. The screeching tires came once again, but closer this time. I felt Katniss' hand tense up in mine as we continued to run. We started to pass up a subdivision and Katniss and I got the same idea at the same time.

We both bolted strait for the houses, hopping the first fence we came to. We kept running, jumping a couple more fences before I started to hear burning tires and doors being slammed. I heard officers starting to jump fences as they grunted in exertion. I didn't dare to look back, I only saw more fences to my left.

"Go to the left, let them think that we just kept going forward," I huff to Katniss.

She follows my orders and hops at the left corners of the fences so we can go forward and to the left, like a diagonal.

After hopping about ten more fences and running across a few streets, we make it to a clearing. I also see that there is a train.

"Let's get on the train," Katniss suggest. I nod and we run to an open kart on the train.

We throw our bags in when the train begins to move. I help get Katniss get on the train before jumping in myself. We crawl to the farthest corner of the train, hoping to be concealed by the shadow and darkness of the kart. I sit with my back against the frame of the kart while Katniss is between my legs, leaning against my chest. We just sit there, breathing heavily as the train takes off. I saw no sign of the officers as the train took off. Katniss falls asleep in my arms, tired from the tiring events that took place today. I fall asleep soon after, hoping that wherever the train takes us, will be to safety and away from trouble.

**There you go! Another chapter finished for you guys! Review and tell me any ideas y'all have for me! Until next time…**

**Jessica**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey I'm back with another chapter by my side! Aren't y'all excited? Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites and follows! They make me smile ****. READ AND REVIEW! ENJOY!**

Chapter 8: Peeta POV

_Katniss and I are on the beach, me in some khaki shorts and her in a bikini top with a thin skirt covering her bikini bottom. We are hand in hand, walking as the water splashes every once in a while around our ankles. All I know is that we are happy, and that we have no worry in the world. I also notice that we are older, about twenty-six, twenty-seven years old._

_Katniss pulls around so that she is in front of me. She takes both of my hands in hers and looks at me right in the eye._

"_Thank you, Peeta," she says. I give her a confused look._

"_Thank you for what?" I ask_

"_For giving me the life I always wanted."_

_I hear laughter behind me and I turn around. I see a girl, about six years old. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes that seem so familiar. She has my eyes. Following her was a small boy, with wavy blonde hair and gray eyes. He couldn't be no older than four. The kids were beautiful. They came running towards us, their arms outstretched. _

"_Mommy! Daddy," they yell as they came to us with smiles on their faces._

_I get on one knee and copy the kids by extending my arms out. The girl runs into my arms while the boy goes into Katniss'. I stand back up with the girl in my arms. She climbs onto my shoulders, holding onto my hair for support. I look over to Katniss to see that she has a smile that has over taken her face as the boy climbs onto Katniss' shoulders as well._

"_Look Noelle, I'm tall," the little boy squeals_

"_Not as tall as me P.J," she called back._

_We all laugh. Katniss leans over and kisses me._

"_I love you," she says_

"_I love you, too," I say, giving her another kiss. That earns us an 'EW' from the kids, which I know now that they are ours._

_The scene changes and I am alone. My surroundings are gray with a dim light._

"_Katniss," I call out into the emptiness._

"_PEETA!" I hear her scream_

"_KATNISS!" I scream into nothing. Then I hear a thud, like something heavy hitting the ground. I turn around and see Katniss on the ground._

_I run up to her and clumsily get on my knees. Katniss looked pale all the blood drained from her face. I grab her head and cradle it in my lap. It clumsily flops onto my lap._

"_NO, NO, NO!" I scream. "Katniss come back to me," I scream, but I get no response. I feel my throat tighten and hot tears in my eyes._

"_Get up. C'mon get up," I hear in the distance. "Get up, get up! GET UP!"_

I bolt up to the sitting position, covered in a thin layer of sweat. I'm breathing heavily, my chest heaving. Katniss is looking at me with worried eyes, her hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. Are you okay?" she asks. I run my hand through my hair and nod my head.

"Do you want to talk about it," she comforts, rubbing my arm. I shake my head.

She just nods and takes her place back between my legs. I wrap my arms around her stomach and kiss the top of her head.

"It was about losing you. But now that I know you're right here with me, I'm okay now," I whisper. I hear her laugh and shake against me.

"You're such a cheese ball," she laughs.

I just laugh and lean back against the rusted wall of the empty kart. We watch as trees speed by out from our kart. We see the occasional deer and rabbit as we travel on the rails. We ate breakfast and joked around. Katniss actually let me braid her hair, which turned out to be a big fail.

We illegally ride the rails for who knows how long. I think about 20 hours including the hours we slept through. We don't know where we are, for all I know we can be in Timbuktu. But as long as I'm with Katniss, I'm in the right place. That's where I need to be

We stay on the train for another few hours before we see a city in the horizon. Katniss suggest that we jump now before we get too close to the city and get caught at the train station. And we also don't know for sure that the train was not skipping the town and stopping at the next one.

I grab my things and sling them on my back. I walk to the opening of the kart and stand there, looking for a soft place to jump. The grounds next to the tracks are all rocks. Our chance of getting broken bones and the chance of killing ourselves is higher on this type of grounding. I stick my head out and try to see if there are any softer places to jump from. About half a mile ahead I saw hills of dirt. Soft looking soil and some sand. With this train going a little less than 30 miles per hour, we need to jump, quickly.

I look to Katniss and she sees what I was looking at. Her eyes go big and she looks back at me. I take her hand trying to give her comfort.

"We need to jump on those dirt mounds; we won't make it if we jump onto the rocks. Trust me," I assure her.

She gives me a nod. She then gets up on her tip toes and gives me a kiss. I look back out the opening and we have to jump pretty soon.

"On the count of three," I say. "One, two, THREE!"

We jump, still holding onto each other's hands. I close my eyes and brace for impact. I land face first into the large dirt mound. I let out a large huff as the air was knocked out of me. I lift my head and spit out the sand that has collected in my mouth. I squeeze my right hand to see if Katniss' hand was still in it. It was. I look over to her to see that she has lifted her head, shaking the dirt out of her hair.

"You alright," I ask her. She nods her head.

We slowly crawl off the dirt mounds and dust ourselves off. I gaze back to the town we saw in the distance.

"Better start walking," I hear Katniss breathe. I nod my head.

"Yeah, looks like a long way," I say back.

She takes my hand and we start towards the city. We walk about two miles in a clearing when we hit another patch of woods. This small woods didn't have any animals in it, only the occasional chirp of a bird here and there. Soon we meet a dirt road; we start to walk on the road, thinking that it would bring us to civilization sooner. Sure we had to hop a few fences, but that's not a hassle with all we have been through. After another mile, we finally break out of the shrub and are met by a town center. There are cars everywhere and lots of places. There was a huge store called H.E.B, which looks like a grocery store. There were a few clothing stores and a few eating places, like a Dairy Queen, McDonalds, KFC, and a place called Whataburger. What kind of name is that for a fast food place? well it must be good because cars are all the way around the corner in line for this place.

"Whoa, this place is better than Gotson," Katniss says. I nod in agreement.

This place was more urbanized than the last place. We didn't know where we were and didn't want to go into a restaurant to ask where we are. We thought it would be more normal to ask a person in a gas station, like people on long road trips. We walk to the nearest gas station and ask the woman behind the counter where we were.

"Well, y'all are in Sugar Land, Texas," she emphasizes a little too much for my liking.

What kind of name is Sugar Land? We thank the lady and head out. I look back at Katniss next to me, who looks back at me expectantly.

"Ready to try this again?" I ask. She squeezes my hand.

"Yeah, as long as I'm with you." She says. I smile at her as we walk. Maybe this second time will be a lot better than the first time. I hope.

**Thank you for reading! Now I want to clear up a few things. One: yes some of the places listed like Whataburger and Dairy Queen are real food establishments in Texas. I know that Whataburger is only or mainly in Texas, I think there is only two other locations in all of the US. I don't know if there are any other Dairy Queens, I'm guessing they are only in Texas because their slogan is 'that's what I like about Texas'. Two: Sugar Land is a real town in Texas. I spent half of my life in Sugar Land. It is a town about ten miles outside Houston. Cool name huh? Well if you don't believe me, look it up. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey my readers! I'm here with another chapter. Well I found out that Dairy Queens are all over the United States! You learn something new every day! Well, read and review! Follow and favorite! ENJOY!**

Chapter 9: Peeta POV

"Calm down, they aren't going to ruin your hair," I assure her.

"How do you know that?! They're students," she argues back

We are currently in a waiting room, and Katniss is slightly rocking in a chair, her hands in her hair. She didn't want to get her hair done, but we have to. With our faces plastered all over the news and on wanted posters all over the state, we needed to change our looks. Get something done that when you would look at us, you wouldn't recognize us right off the bat. But not so drastic that we look like totally different people. We are both getting highlights in our hair, me deciding to get black strands in my blonde hair, while Katniss is getting light brown strands in hers. We are also both getting hair-cuts. We both are in desperate needs of haircuts. My hair is down past my ears, with the soft waves also reaching the bottom of my neck. Katniss' hair reaches half way down her back.

I decided that we should go to this beauty school to get our hair done. For one, they are cheap, two; we get a free bottle of nail polish if we try them out. I'm just going to give Katniss mine though, whatever color she chooses. Katniss was worried that they would recognize us. But I told her that they probably were too busy studying to watch TV, since half of these people looked like they were young enough to be in college.

Soon enough a lady with a black apron on comes into the waiting room.

"Y'all are up next," she said.

I see Katniss' eyes go wide. I grab her hand and lead her into the room. I don't know why she is so scared about her hair. Maybe it's a girl thing. I don't know.

The lady sits us into two chairs, with Katniss and I across from each other, about eight feet apart. The chairs and mirrors were set up in a "U" shape. The lady leaves and tells us that our hair dressers will be with us in a moment. I take this moment to turn in my chair and face Katniss. She sees me in the mirror and turns around also.

"Are you excited?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"I've never gotten my hair done professionally," she says.

Now I see why she would be scared. I was scared when I got my first hair cut when I was little.

"You'll be fine," I say.

As if on cue, two women in black aprons come up to us and swing our chairs around. My hair dresser puts a large black sheet around my neck, which covered my whole front. The lady puts my hair in a cap that has a bunch of little holes all around the cap. She grabs a small silver hook and starts to pull small chunks of hair through the holes. This small lady also immediately starts a conversation, asking me all kinds of questions.

"So what do you do for fun," she would ask.

"I like to read," I respond kindly.

"What do you like to read?"

"Science fiction."

She nods and continues taking about everything and anything. I just listen and cut in whenever I have a comment or an opinion. Soon we are on the topic of relationships. She talks about her boyfriend and how he is so nice. Soon, she turns her attention to me.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Peeta," she asked. After about an hour of talking, we were on a first name basis. I smile, immediately thinking of Katniss.

"OOOO! You do! Tell me about her," she cried

"Well I met her when I was ten. And I can say that at that moment, I was a goner," I say. I get a few "AW's" from a few hair dressers who are listening to the story.

"She is so beautiful; I mean she can stop a truck with just her eyes. She is strong, funny, calm, gorgeous, smart, just perfect," I say

"It sounds like you really love her," one says. I nod my head.

"Yeah I do. I can go all day about her but I know y'all don't want to hear that," I say.

"She sounds like a lucky girl. I wish I could meet her, she sounds wonderful," another speaks.

"You can. She came here with me." I point behind me to Katniss, who is talking to her hair dresser.

All of the women that were around me scamper to Katniss and swarm her chair. They start asking her questions and giving her compliments.

"OMG you are so lucky to have a boyfriend like him."

"He really loves you."

"You are as pretty as he says!"

"How did he convince you to out with him?"

"When did you realize that you like him back?"

Katniss patiently ad gladly answers all of the questions they throw at her. But soon they go back to their doll heads and clients. After about another ten minutes, my hair has been sitting in this dye for a while and I was time to rinse. She washes out the dye and puts me back in the chair. When I reach my chair, Katniss was being taken to rinse her hair. She takes a pit stop and comes to my chair.

"Like the look. It brings out your bad side," she smirks

"Well I am glad you like it. I can't wait to see yours. You will look beautiful, as always," I flirt. She blushes and kisses my cheek.

"Oh come on! That was weak! He deserves a kiss on the lips for a compliment like that," one hair dresser says. Katniss and I laugh and shake our heads.

Next thing I know, half of the hair dressers are chanting "KISS! KISS!" Katniss leans in gives a soft kiss on the lips. I hear a bunch of shouts and claps as Katniss pulls away. I didn't even try to hide the smile that has taken over my face. Katniss smiles back and goes to get her hair rinsed. I get my hair dried and get a good look at my hair. It's different, but I can't say that I don't like it.

"So where do you want your hair cut to dear?" my hair dresser speaks.

"About to above my ears and even the rest out with it," I respond. She nods her head and gets started.

After about half an hour, she turns y chair around and shows me my new look. My hair looks a lot shorter, it's only about two inches long. My hair dresser was biting her lip, waiting to get my response.

"I love it," I tell her. She smiles and claps her hands. She dusts me free of hair and stands me up. I go over to Katniss as she was finishing up. Her hair was now just past her shoulders and was so smooth and soft looking. Her hair dresser turns her chair around so Katniss is facing me.

"So…What do you think?" she asks

"It looks great, I really like the highlights. You look gorgeous," I say. Katniss blushes and smiles.

The compliment earns me another kiss from my girlfriends, which I gladly accept. We pay and Katniss gets her free bottles of nail polish. She gets a soft pink and black nail polish colors. She said that she wanted to get the black to match my hair. I grab Katniss' hand as we leave the shop. We thank everyone and bid our good-byes. Now that our looks have changes, we should be more protected. I mean we didn't get recognized by the people at the beauty school. Things should get better right?

**Thank you for reading. I know that this chapter was short, but this was a filler chapter. But I still hope that you enjoyed the small humor relief I provided for y'all. Review! I'm open for criticism and ideas. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	10. Chapter 10

**What up my readers! I'm here with another chapter. I was told in a review that they would still recognize the characters if they saw them on the street. Well I know that. Just to clear things up, I said in the beginning of my last chapter that they wouldn't be recognized right off the bat. Kind of like you are walking down the street and you past by a person, you think they look like someone you know but it's not them. You thought it was them for a moment, kind of like that. They weren't changed to look like totally different people; I think I said that in the last chapter also. Well…ENJOY!**

Chapter 10: Peeta POV

"How about that one," I decided, pointing to a tall tan building.

"Yeah, that one looks nice," Katniss agrees.

I nod and open the complex's doors. Katniss steps in and I follow suit. We walk to the elevators like we belong there, following the same procedures as we did the last time we did this. We go to the highest possible floor in the building and go to a random room. I knock at the door and run a few doors down. After a minute, no one came to the door. We walk back to the door and I get on the ground. I see Katniss sit next to me against the wall. I give her a confused look and she sighs.

"If this is going to take as long as last time, I'm not going to be standing up this time. My feet hurt as much as it is," she explains.

"Well, it isn't going to take as long this time," I promised. She rolls her eyes and lays her head back against the wall.

I go to work on the lock with the two picks I have. This lock only took me a minute or two to get open. I stand up and smirk down at Katniss who was still sitting on the floor. She rolls her eyes once again and gathers her things on the floor. While she was doing that, I looked inside to see if the people inhabiting this room weren't just not at home right now. The room looked inhabited. I go back out into the hallway and throw the bags into the doorway. I go back out and pick Katniss up from the floor bridal style. She squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Why did you pick me up?" She shrieked.

"You said that your feet hurt," I recall

"Yeah not broken! I can still walk!" I ignore her and carry her through the door.

I carry her to the bedroom and set her on the bed. She settled down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. I gladly take the spot next to her. She snuggles into my arms and exhales deeply. I kiss the top of her head and tighten my grip on her.

"I'm sorry," I say. Katniss looks up at me and gives me a confused look.

"For what?" she asks

"For not giving you the life I promised I would give you," I explain.

Katniss shifts in my arms so that she is looking at me right in the face. I try not to look away from her gaze.

"You have given it to me," she responds back.

"No I haven't. All we have been doing is sneaking around, running from cops, and hopping trains."

"Sure, but so what? I mean we are fugitives. But you have given me the best days of my life. I've gotten to do things I have never thought I would be able to do. Like I was able to get my hair done. And I got to shoot a gun again like I used to with my dad. I was able to watch TV again and do nothing with my best friend," she recalled to me. I see a smile form on her lips before she continued. "But my favorite of them all, I got to hang out with my boyfriend at the fair like the day came straight out of a movie. I got to have my first kiss with my long term crush, who was also my best friend. Not only that, but, my crush said that he loved me. The guy I loved for nearly three years said he loved me, too. These last few days have been like a dream come true."

Tears were slowly rolling down her face by the time she finished. I gently wiped them away and pull her closer to me. I kiss the top of her head and just hold her. I really never thought of it that way. She cherished the little things I did for her, while was worried about the big things I needed to do. If you think about it that way I got the girl of my dreams. So I guess the escape hasn't been a total fail. I adjust her so that she was facing me, straddling my waist.

"And I do, I love you. So, so much. I love you with all of my heart," I whisper.

I put my hands on her hips as hers go to my arms.

"I love you, too, so, so much, with all of my heart," she repeated

I move my hands to each side of her face as we lean into each other. I kiss her soft lips and move my hands to her waist. Her hands go to my hair at the nape of my neck. Katniss turns my head to the right slightly to deepen the kiss. I smile slightly at Katniss' eagerness. I run my hands up her back into her hair. My fingers run through the soft ends of her hair. Somehow we managed to do a full 180 and we went from sitting up, with my back to the headboard, to Katniss lying on her back on the mattress. I sweep my tongue across her bottom lip and she opens her mouth slightly, granting me access. She wraps her legs around my lower back and locks her ankles. I kiss her more deeply as she arches into mu touch. I move my lips form hers to her jaw line. I trail kisses down to her neck. I hear her moan as I reach near her ear. She pulls my head back up and places her lips back on mine. I feel her smile against my lips as we deepen the kiss again.

I feel this feeling in my chest that has started to go to the rest of my body. The amazing feeling was in my toes, the tips of my fingers. The feeling also went to other places I didn't want the feeling to go to. I raised myself a little so she didn't feel me. But to my luck, she decided to flip us over, her whole body flushed against mine, which made it worse. I feel her crotch rub against mine and I moan into her mouth. She gives me one long kiss with just lips before breaking apart. She straddles my hip as we catch our breaths. And I know for sure that she feels me now. I blush as a failed attempt to hide my embarrassment. She smirks and leans in close to my ear. I feel her breath against my ear.

"Well, I can tell you liked that," she whispered seductively.

"You don't know what kind of effect you have on me" I say back. She kisses me one more time before going to get her things from the doorway entrance. I lay on my stomach, hoping that it would help my little problem.

I walk back in our apartment after sneaking over to the corner store and stealing some food that should last us a little while. I decided to take a sketch pad and a huge deluxe set of colored pencils for my entertainment. I remembered how much I loved to draw as a past time in the prison. But since it was a riot I didn't have time or the priorities to grab my book. I was a little sad that I won't be able to get my drawings back, but I will just make some new ones. A new life comes with new drawings. I go back into the bedroom where Katniss was and plop back on the bed. Katniss gives me a kiss on the cheek and scoots closer.

"Whataya goona draw?" she asked

"The most inspirational thing that I came to out of all of my years of drawing. It always was something I touched up on," I respond.

I face her so that she can't see my book.

"You can't look until I'm finished with it," Katniss pouts at my rule and slumps back into the bed, defeated.

I draw my picture for the next half hour and didn't look up the whole time. The picture was already embedded in my brain so I didn't need to look up to think. Once the picture was starting to finish, I started to feel the bed vibrate a little bit. I look up to see that Katniss was shaking her legs out of impatience.

"Is it done yet? Can I look now?" she whined. I laugh and hand over the picture.

It was a picture of her. She has been my inspiration to most of my drawings. I look at Katniss to see her mouth hanging open, astonished by the picture.

"This is amazing, Peeta," she gasped. "I'm your inspiration?" I nod. She smiles at me and gives me a hug.

We break and I grab the blanket I got from the store today since this apartment didn't have any like the last one did. We change into more comfortable clothes and jump into bed. I pull the covers over us as Katniss snuggles into my arms.

"Since you have been doing things for me since we escaped, tomorrow, I get to do something for you," Katniss says out of the blue.

"You don't have to. I did all of those things because I love you," I reminded her.

"I know, but I still want to do something for you because I love you."

"Fine, I better be surprised."

"Trust me, you will be."

**Thank you for reading! I will update again this weekend so be on the lookout for another chapter! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	11. Chapter 11

**What's good my readers! I decided not to do my geometry homework to write another chapter. I'm the only freshman in my geometry class. Their main goal is to beat me on a test grade, which they all have failed to do. Well enough about me, let's see what Katniss is going to do for Peeta. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I say that Peeta wrote a song but I didn't make it up. It's a song sang by Justin Timberlake. It's called Until the End of Time by Justin Timberlake. The lyrics are really good and so is the song. So don't skip over the lyrics, read them!**

Chapter 11: Peeta POV

The evident tickling sensation at the base of my neck is what woke me up this morning. I flutter my eyes open to find out that I'm on my back. My arm is still around my girlfriend and that it has to be around eight in the morning. The tickling feeling has come back into focus as I was fully wakening. I realized that they were soft kisses being planted on my neck. I bring my other arm around to the other side of my body and pull Katniss around so that she was lying on top of me. My blue eyes meet her gray ones after I pull her over.

"What made you do that?" I asked her after a moment.

"Well you weren't waking up when I was calling your name. So I thought that kissing you would wake you up," she says with a smile on her lips.

"Well you were successful," I chuckle. She gives me a peck on my lips before getting up from on top of me.

"C'mon, get up. You have to get your surprise today, remember?" she says.

I smile and get up from bed. It feels nice that Katniss was doing something for me. Makes me feel special, loved. No one has done something for me a long time. I don't think someone has done anything for me just from the kindness of their heart ever; always did it because they had to. So Katniss doing this for me feels good.

Katniss and I take showers and get changed for the day. Katniss grabs the money we have and stuffs it into her pocket. She takes my hand and we leave.

We are walking the streets of the town, and that's the problem. Just walking. I want to do something on a day like this. I have done enough walking for a lifetime. I mean, I love walking and spending time with my girlfriend, but I don't want to spend another day just walking.

"So what are we doing for my surprise?" I question.

"It's not what we are doing, it is what you are getting," she responds

"Well then, what am I getting?"

"You'll see."

I huff in anticipation as we continue to walk down the sidewalk. She laughs at me and let go of my hand. I was about to give her a pout face when I feel her hand go to around my hip. I smile and put my arm around her waist. We walk for about another ten minutes before I couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't take it anymore. You're killing me! What's my surprise?" I beg. She smiles at me and takes my hand.

"We are here you eager beaver," she says.

I look up at the building that we were in front of. It was a pawn shop. What is she going to get me from a pawn shop? She takes my hand and leads me into the place. the place was huge, unlike the usual pawn shops I am use to seeing. This place could have been a regular store if it didn't have the words "PAWN SHOP" in the front. She takes me to a section of the store full of music stuff. She stops me in front of a wall covered in guitars. The wall had vintage guitars, electric guitars, acoustic, and every kind you can imagine. I look back down at Katniss who is smiling back at me.

"Surprise" she exclaims. "Choose one,"

I immediately choose a black acoustic guitar and put the strap around my shoulders. I strum it a few times and know it was out of tune, but that could be easily fixed. It was perfect.

"How did you know that I wanted a guitar?" I asked.

"Well I remembered how you said you played guitar before the prison and how much you loved it. So I decided to get you one," she explained.

I did love the guitar. One thing you had to do when you were in an orphanage was that you had to go and sell stuff to raise money for the orphanage. Sometimes people would give me extra money to keep for myself. I saved up my money over the period of about a year and bought myself a guitar at a pawn shop near the orphanage. I did self-taught and was pretty good at it. But since I got arrested, I bet they sold it since I couldn't take it with me. I take the guitar from around me and set it back on the wall hook it was formally resting on. I wrap my arms around Katniss and spin her in a circle. She holds on tight and squeals in delight.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I yelled over and over.

I set her down and kiss her once. I grab the guitar and sling it around my back. We explored the rest of the store while we were there. I grabbed a DC flex hat and put it on. I turned to Katniss and gave her my best "I look tough" look. She laughs and slaps the visor of my hat down. She grabs another hat of the same style and puts it on She puts it on and gives her best tough looking face while crossing her arms over her chest. I laugh and switch her hat around so it was backwards. We both decided to get those hats and looked more around the store. Katniss decided to get a small flip wallet for girls to keep the rest of our money in.

We go to the counter to pay for the things. Since it was a gift, Katniss didn't want them stolen from a store, plus there were cameras everywhere. We set everything we wanted on the counter and take out our money. I saw that Katniss put in a few 1" silicon bracelets at the last minute as they caught her attention. She was also looking in the case that had all of the jewelry in it. She points at something through the glass and said that those would look good on me. I go over to where she was and look down. She was pointing at a pair of medium sized square diamond studs.

"Oh no! I'm a guy. Guys don't wear earrings," I argue.

"Guys do wear earrings! And it would match your look," she argues back.

"I don't even have holes in my ears. And I bet they don't pierce ears here," I say triumphantly.

"Oh yes we do. I'm certified to do all kinds of piercings," I hear a man say.

I turn to see a middle aged man standing behind the counter. He had scruffy hair and stubble on his face.

"Your friend here trying to convince you to get your ears pierced?" he asked

"Yeah she is," I replied back

"Well are you gonna do it?" he questioned

"No." I see Katniss give me a puppy dog look.

"Not even for your girlfriend?" she pleaded.

"Oh this is your girlfriend," the man said. "You gotta do it for your girlfriend. How about this, no charge for the service and the studs are half off."

I roll my eyes and give in.

"Fine, I mean, how bad can it be?"

The man, who told me to call him Haymitch, led me to a chair and cleaned my ear lobes. He got the studs and loaded them into an ear piercing gun. He put my ear lobe against the gun and told me to stay still. I heard a loud popping sound and then a searing pain in my ear.

"AAAHHH OH MY GOD!" I yelled. It was painful, and the process was repeated with the other ear.

"Oh come on. Getting your ears pierced isn't that bad," Katniss says.

"Oh yeah, I would like to see you get a piercing," I say back. Katniss pulls back her hair and reveals her ears.

"My ears are already pierced," she smirked.

"Who said I was talking about your ears," I snorted, looking down at her stomach.

Katniss follows my gaze and her eyes go wide. She puts her hands over her belly button and looked back up at me. She opened her mouth to say something than quickly closed it. She puts her hands on her hips and looks at me right in the eye.

"Fine, I'll do it," she said calmly. She turned her head to Haymitch. "How much?"

"I'll do your whole thing for free. I have too many belly button rings to do with," Haymitch said

Katniss laid down on a table Haymitch provided and lifted the hem of her shirt a little bit, exposing her belly button. The man cleaned it and shot the jewelry through her stomach. I waited for her to yell in pain like I did but no sound came from her. Just gritted teeth. She sits up and smirks at me, yanking her shirt down. I roll my eyes as she goes to the counter to pay for the things. The man was nice enough and let us pay 100 dollars for everything and gave me a complimentary case for my guitar. We leave with our new merchandise and go to the park we passed on the way here. It was called Oyster Creek Park and you could easily get lost in it, it was that big. We sit at a bench and I take out my guitar. I do all of the fine tuning on the instrument and play a few notes. I also play a few chords that I use for every song I play or write.

"Do you know any songs?" I hear my girlfriend ask. I nod.

"Can you play one for me?" she gave me another set of puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know, it doesn't come for free," I say mischievously. She leans in and gives me a kiss on the lips.

"Alright, this one if for my wonderful girlfriend, Katniss Everdeen."

I smile and play a song I wrote while I was in prison. I strum a few chords and start the song. I may not be the best singer but I wasn't tone deaf either.

_Listen_

_Woke up this morning_

_Heard the TV sayin' something_

_'Bout disaster in the world and_

_It made me wonder where I'm going_

_There's so much darkness in the world_

_But I see beauty left in you girl_

_And what you give me let's me know_

_That I'll be alright_

_'cause if your love was all I had_

_In this life_

_Well that would be enough_

_Until the end of time_

_So rest your weary heart_

_And relax your mind_

_Cause I'm gonna love you girl_

_Until the end of time_

_You've got me singing_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Everybody sing_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Everybody singing_

_Oh whoa yeah_

_Now if you're ever wondering_

_About the way I'm feeling_

_Well baby girl there ain't no question_

_Just to be around you is a blessing_

_Sick and tired of trying to save the world_

_I just want to spend my time with you girl_

_And what you're giving me_

_Let's me know that we'll be alright._

_'cause if your love was all I had_

_In this life_

_Well that would be enough_

_Until the end of time_

_So rest your weary heart_

_And relax your mind_

_Cause I'm gonna love you girl_

_Until the end of time_

_You've got me singing_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Everybody sing_

_Oh whoa, yeah_

_Everybody singing_

_Oh whoa yeah_

_'cause if your love was all I had_

_In this life_

_Well that would be enough_

_Until the end of time_

_So rest your weary heart_

_And relax your mind_

_Cause I'm gonna love you girl_

_Until the end of time_

I strum one last chord and look back at her. She was smiling widely back at me and takes my hand. I smile back before I hear applause from in front of me. I look to find out that a group of people have gathered and are clapping for me. People throw loose change and bills into my open case. They probably thought I was playing for money. But I was just playing out of love. One man comes up to Katniss and I and throws money into the case.

"Did you write that for your girlfriend over here," he gestures to Katniss.

"I sure did," I replied proudly. He goes to Katniss and talks to her.

"Don't let him go, he's a keeper," the man whispered.

"I don't ever plan to," Katniss says, gripping my arm. The man smiles and leaves.

"He was right you know." I turn to face Katniss and listen to what else she had to say

"Now that you got me, you're stuck with me."

"Well I'm glad you said that. Because you are stuck with me too."

**Done! Did you like the chapter? I thought Peeta's song was romantic. Well review follow and favorite! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello my followers and readers! I am back with another chapter. I re-posted this chapter because I wasn't happy with it. So I took it down and some revisions to it. But remember to tell your fellow fanfictioners about this story! Spread the word! And I would like to thank a reviewer Occy3, who has been reviewing in a lot of chapters. I just like to say that your simple reviews mean a lot to me and I appreciate them. Reviews make my day! Well, ENJOY!**

Chapter 12: Peeta POV

After the song in the park, I collect the money and put my guitar back into the case. Katniss counts the money and said that it was around forty dollars. We put the money away and walk back to our apartment. We settle in for bed and get under the covers. Katniss snuggles into me as she did every night and let out a deep sigh.

"Mine turn," I exhale. Katniss turned slightly and gave me a confused face, eyebrows raised.

"Your turn for what?" she asked clearly confused.

"My turn to do something for you," I respond with a smirk on my face.

"But you already did so much for me. We can just hang out tomorrow."

"No, I want to do something special," I put my hand to my chin and think for a moment. "I want to take you out."

Katniss averts my gaze and blushes. She does that thing that girls do where they move hair out of their face while slightly smiling. She then takes my hand and meets my gaze again.

"Are you asking me on a date, Peeta?" she smiles. I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I am. So," I take one of her hands in both of mine. "Katniss, it will be a honor if you would go out on a date with me. Will you go out on a date with me?"

Waiting for an answer still made me nervous. Even though I knew she would say yes, and she was my girlfriend, I still had that feeling that she was going to say no. Which seemed pretty stupid of me.

"Yes, I will go out on a date with you," she finally responds.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Katniss laughs at me. She gives me a kiss goodnight and we go to sleep.

I told Katniss that I was leaving to get a few necessities from the store and that I would be back in an hour the next day. Katniss believed me and gave a kiss before I left. But I just needed a reason to get out of the house. I needed to find a place to take Katniss for our date tonight. I walk around for about half an hour before I stumbled in front of this huge building. The building was colorful and had giant letters plastered in the front saying "FUNPLEX". I go inside to find that it was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. I saw games and an indoor Ferris wheel. I also found that there were go-karts, bumper cars, bowling, and roller blading. It was perfect. I go ask a lady about the admission fee and it was within my budget. Right next door was an Italian restaurant that looked pretty good to go to. I remember how I got to my destinations and go back to Katniss. I enter the apartment and was greeted with a kiss by my wonderful girlfriend. I will never get tired of those.

"So when's the date?" she asks excitedly.

"Now. Get dressed into something comfortable, but cute. Which I think is just something comfortable because you're always cute," I flirt.

She laughs and shoos me away while she went to change. I took this as my chance and went to a flower kart that was always outside the apartment. I buy a single rose and go back upstairs. When I get to the door, I decided to do this date like any other date. I fix my hair and knock on the door. The door opens and Katniss appears in the opening. She was wearing dark washed skinny jeans with a light colored graphic tee. She was wearing navy blue converse on her feet as well, to finish the outfit.

"You look beautiful," I breathe. Katniss blushes and looks down trying to hide it. She eventually looked back up again and I gave her the rose.

"It's beautiful," she whispers.

"A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl," I smile. She blushes even deeper and we leave for our date.

I took her to the place and I saw her eyes go big as she took everything in.

"This place is amazing!" she shouts over the noise. I paid the admittance for the two of us and they let us in. Katniss quickly looked around before dragging me to the go-karts. We are quickly moved in line and are put into karts. We line up at the starting line and wait for the flag. I'm on the outside while Katniss was in a kart to my right. I look over to her, who was currently giving me a smirk.

"You're going down, Mellark," she said.

"Not a chance, Everdeen," I smirk back.

We hear a buzzard and the race started. We zoom past the line, with me in the lead. Most of the race was like this, with me in the lead. But towards the end of the race, I run into the side of the track and slowed down. Katniss was able to pass me up. I grunt in frustration as I tried to catch up, without success at that. She wins the race with me in second place. Katniss jumps out of her go-kart and trots over to me with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"And Everdeen takes the gold!" she shouts, waving her arms in the air. "And the crowd goes wild!"

"So what was your prize, Everdeen?" I ask in an announcer voice. She stops and thought for a second.

"I won a kiss form the sexiest man alive," she told me.

"Well sorry that Taylor Lautner isn't here right now. Maybe next time," I chuckled.

She laughed at me and pulled me down for a quick kiss.

We explored some other things in the place. We played a few rounds of hoops at a stand indented in the wall. It was kind of like a carnival game but bigger, but the same concept. We also tried bowling while we were there. Katniss insisted that she could kick my butt in bowling, that she was actually good in the game. So I took her up to that challenge. I ended up winning, by like fifty points. I slowly walked in a circle with my arms up in the air.

"And Mellark takes home the first place trophy!" I loud whispered in imitation to Katniss.

"What's your prize, Mellark," Katniss asked.

"I want a kiss from the most gorgeous, beautiful, and the sexiest woman alive," I said

"Well sorry. Megan Fox couldn't be here today," she said. I laughed and pulled her in for a kiss.

"C'mon. I want to learn how to roller skate," she told me once we pulled apart.

"You never learned how to roller skate?" I gasped. She shook her head.

"I just never went. It seems like fun though."

We go to the roller skating area and lace our skates on. We walk, well more like stomp, our way to the rink. I slide onto the floor with ease and turn around. Katniss was gripping the sides of the rink like a lifeline. Katniss' knees were bent and her arms were shaking. Her toes were starting to point inward towards each other. Man when she said she didn't know how to skate, I didn't know it was this bad. Katniss looks up at me and gives me a small smile. I slide over to her and put me arm around her waist.

"Now let's take it easy, shall we?" I say.

She slowly let go of the side of the rink and tightened her grip around my waist. We were just slowly moving they type of moving before you start to skate, when Katniss foot slips from under her and her body heads for the floor. I heard her squeak before I caught her by her waist.

"Caught you," I breathed. She smiled up at me.

"I knew you would. You wouldn't let me fall," she said.

"Not in this lifetime."

We started to slowly move around the rink again. I told Katniss to slightly push one of her feet back and away from her to push herself forward. Katniss did what I said and we moved forward. She giggled as she made an accomplishment.

"There you go. Now do the same thing but with the other foot," I directed.

She did the same thing with the other foot and moved even more. I look at Katniss, who has a smile that has invaded half of her face.

"I'm doing it!" she exclaimed. But soon after she fell and I was too far to catch her. I hurriedly skate over to her and help her up.

"What happened to not letting me fall in my lifetime?" she laughed.

"Did I say lifetime? I meant those five minutes," I smiled.

I helped her up and we stared up again. We were soon gaining speed after about half an hour. Katniss was finally balancing and was soon skating on her own. I think with her being fourteen, she was a faster learner than if she would have younger like six.

I was on a turn of the rink when I saw someone pass me up. The girl turns around and gives me a smirk.

"Get out the rink slow poke," she yelled over the music. I smiled and sped up to her. I passed her up and turned around, so I was skating backwards. I learned how to skate backwards from a couple of friends back at the orphanage.

"Who's the slow poke now?" I shouted back. I was turning around when my foot got caught with my other skate and I fell flat on my behind.

I let out a grunt as I sat on the floor. Katniss comes up to me laughing, her hand over her mouth.

"You okay babe," she asked. I shook my head and answered.

"Yeah I'm fine," Katniss offered her hand and I took it. She lifted me off the floor and I rubbed my butt. I was thinking about what Katniss said to me before she helped me up. did she call me…babe? I grabbed her wrist before she took off.

"Wait, did you just call me babe?" I questioned.

"Yeah decided to try it out. I won't say it if you don't like it," she explained

"No I like it. It's cool…babe," I smirked. The comment deserved me a playful smack on my arm. We were about to take off again when we heard an announcement.

"This next song is a couples date. So grab that special someone and get onto the floor."

I look over to Katniss and take her hand. A slow lovey dovey song came on and we skated. I thought about how this date was going pretty good so far. How Katniss looked perfect under the lights of the room. Just everything about tonight is just perfect, and I hoped that she was thinking the same.

"Thank you. For tonight. It was nice," I heard Katniss say. I smile and tightened my grip on her hand.

The song ends and we go off the floor. I decided that it was time to do the second part of our date before it got too late.

"Ready for part two?" I asked

"There's a second part?" she gasped

"Yep, we were just getting started."

**Thanks for reading! Review! Follow! Favorite! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello my readers! Another chapter for y'all because y'all are so awesome! Read the chapter and tell me what you think in the reviews! I'm still open for criticism. Read on and ENJOY!**

Chapter 13: Peeta POV

I stuffed another fork-full of pasta into my mouth, trying to still keep my table manners. I took Katniss to the Italian place next door. I mean, how could you take a girl out on a date and not take her to dinner ya know? I was enjoying a seafood fettucine Alfredo while Katniss was enjoying a lasagna.

"Mmmm. This is so good," Katniss sighed in content.

"You probably like it so much because it isn't the canned food we have been eating for the past week and a half," I negated.

"Or prison food," she added.

I nod and took another bite of food. It was nice to have something warm, cooked. The food reminds me of a home cooked meal, even though I never really got one of those at the orphanage. Everything at the orphanage was mass-produced to feed all of the kids there. But I bet Katniss has had plenty of home cooked meals. I bet she was in for a real shock when she started eating prison food. For me, there wasn't much of a difference.

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying it," I say. She looked back up from her plate and gave me a smile.

I took the last bite of food and wiped my mouth with the napkin that was sitting on my lap. I looked over to find that Katniss had put her fork down, sitting back in her chair.

"Would you like a to-go box for your food?" our waiter asked, eyeing the food left on Katniss' plate.

This place did give us a lot of food, the portions were huge! But yet my plate still ended up clean. I felt guilty for eating so much food but hey, I'm a teenage boy, we eat a lot of food. And having food that good, I couldn't help myself but to eat the whole plate.

"Yes I would take one. Thank you." Katniss responded kindly. The man left to retrieve the container.

I look to the end of the table that held the seasonings and a menu. I picked up the menu and found out it was a desert menu. I flip it so the menu options were facing Katniss, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"Do you want some desert, my lady?" I offered. Katniss looked up at me, her eyes looking slightly wider than usual.

"Oh Peeta. You don't have to offer desert. Dinner was enough, really. I don't need desert," she informed me.

"C'mon I know you want some. And I know you didn't eat all of your food because you were saving for desert," I insisted.

Katniss rolled her eyes and looked at the menu. She knew I wasn't going to give up anyway. Katniss bit her lip as her eyes stopped on the menu. I let a smile creep up on my face. She found something she liked.

"Well, the triple layered chocolate mousse cake sound really good. Looks really good, too" she confessed.

"Are we getting a desert this evening?" the waiter questioned as he came back with Katniss' to-go container.

"Yes my good sir. My lady here will have the triple layered chocolate mousse cake," I verified.

"Shall I bring two forks out?" He clarified, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes that would be great," Katniss interjected. The man nodded and went off again.

I looked at Katniss with raised eyebrows.

"Two forks? I got that desert for you," I said.

"If I'm getting a desert, I want to share it with you," she simply stated.

I smiled at her and grabbed her hand from across the small table. I leaned over the table a little bit and kissed her hand.

"Did I ever tell you that you are the best girlfriend ever?" I flirted.

"Only nine hundred and sixty-seven times," she laughed.

"Well I'm only stating the truth,"

Katniss shook her head and packed her leftovers. We stacked our plates on top of each other and sat them towards the end of the table. We made small talk about our night so far, which for me has gone way better than perfect. The waiter came back with a large slice of cake lying on its side. The man sat the plate down in the middle of us and picked up the plates that were sitting at the end of the table.

"Y'all two enjoy the cake. I will be back with the check," the young man said and stalked off once again.

I took a fork and cut myself a piece of the cake. I scooped it onto the fork and started to raise it.

"You're getting the first bite? I thought this was my desert," Katniss grinned.

"This is your desert. And I'm not taking the first bite," I smirked.

I took the fork and fed it to Katniss. She gladly took it and closed her eyes, savoring the taste. Her tongue skimmed over her lips, capturing the remaining chocolate that was left on her lips. She moans in delight.

"So good," she pointed out.

Then she took her fork and grabbed some cake herself. She then fed it to me and I gladly accepted it. I copied my girlfriend and closed my eyes, memorizing the taste. It was really good. I open my eyes to find Katniss enjoying another bite of cake herself. I took another bite myself and enjoyed it. Soon the whole slice of cake was gone our check arrived. We paid and tipped the man. We left the restaurant and walked down the street. I had one more surprise for Katniss tonight. We kept walking and I led Katniss around the corner. She gave me a questioning look but followed, trusting me.

"Where are we going? Our room isn't this way," she stated.

"I know. I have another surprise for you," I said. I practically imagined Katniss widening her eyes behind me.

We walk a couple of blocks when we reached my intended destination. An indoor swimming pool. I picked the back door's lock and went in. we walked through a door and entered the main area. There was one large swimming pool in the middle of the room. I looked over to Katniss who had a concerned look in her eyes.

"Are you sure about this? I mean aren't we going to get caught?" she asked concerned.

"Nah. I mean no one is here and no alarm went off. So I'm guessing we are good," I responded.

Katniss looked at the pool then back at me.

"What made you want to bring me swimming?" she questioned.

"Well I remembered you telling me about how you used to love swimming before the prison. So I thought I would bring you swimming," I explained.

She smiled at me and got on the tip of her toes. She leaned in and kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck. We eventually broke away, but still holding onto each other.

"Did I ever tell you that you are the best boyfriend ever?" she asked,

"Actually, I don't think you ever have," I clarified.

"Well, you are the best," she kissed me. "boyfriend," another kiss. "ever," she finished with one long kiss.

We finally started to strip down for the pool. I was down to my boxers first and looked back at Katniss. She hasn't removed any clothing yet.

"Oh is Katniss Everdeen scared of stripping down in front of her boyfriend?" I teased. She gave me a scowl and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"No it's not that. It's just that you in your boxers is less embarrassing than me in my bra and panties," she argued back.

"Well don't think of it as bra and underwear. Just think of it as a bikini. I mean if you had a bikini you would wear that,"

She huffed, knowing that was a good comeback. I took the studs out of my ears and stuck them in my shoes. I turned to the pool and started running. I jumped in, tucking my legs in and wrapping my arms around them. I make a huge splash and resurfaced. I shook my head from side to side and ran my hand through my hair. I turned to Katniss, who was now undressed to her undergarments. Her belly button piercing glimmered in the moonlight that was shining through the windows of the room. I did a wolf whistle and Katniss blushed from what I could tell. She looked beautiful in the dim moonlight of the room. Her hair down in loose dark waves over her shoulders, curves in all the right places. I had to look away, or else I wouldn't be getting out of this pool for a long time.

I heard a splash and felt water hit the back of my head. I turned around to find Katniss breaking the water's surface. She ran her hand through her hair and swam over to me.

"See? Not so bad isn't it?" I exclaimed. She just laughed and splashed me in the face. Well this just started an all-out splashing war. Screams and squeals escaped Katniss' mouth as I splashed her with twice as much force. Soon, Katniss was calling a truce.

"Well you have to seal the truce with a kiss," I puckered.

She walked over to me, being able to because of the shallow end. I wrapped my arms around her waist and hers went for my neck as we leaned in. the kiss was soft and sweet, as it is most of the time with Katniss. I pulled her in close and deepened it. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her hands went into my hair. God I love this girl.

We soon break for air and swim for a little while longer. We got out of the pool and got dressed. Katniss stopped when she got down to her shirt. I looked at her confused.

"Can I wear your shirt?" she asked

"What's wrong with your shirt?" I questioned, thinking about her motives.

"It's wet," she said innocently. Look at the shirt which was perfectly dry.

"No it isn't," I said. That's when she threw her shirt over by the side of the pool. The shirt landed in a puddle of water, resulting in it being half soaked. She walked over to it and picked it up. she puts it in my hands and looks back up at me. I laugh as I handed over my shirt. She smiled and pulled it over her head.

"Why did you want to wear my shirt anyway?" I asked.

"Well for one, it smells like you. Two, its more comfortable than my shirt. And three, I like to see you shirtless," she explained. I laughed at the last part of her statement.

"You like to see me shirtless?" I laughed. She nodded.

"I mean, who wouldn't like their boyfriend shirtless? Who wouldn't want a shirtless Peeta period?" she responded. I just laughed and grabbed my girlfriend's hand. We left the facility and walked back home. With me shirtless of course.

**Done! What did you think? Review, follow/favorite. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	14. Chapter 14

**What's good my readers? Having a good Spring Break so far? Well, I have another chapter here for you. With that, I also went through most of the chapters and revised them a little bit, like that long paragraph in the first chapter. But the changes are not too drastic. Well…ENJOY! READ AND REVIEW!**

Chapter 14: Peeta POV

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LITTLE BRATS DOING IN THIS ROOM!" I heard a voice yell.

Katniss and I both jerked up in the bed, sitting straight up. The covers have fallen off of us, letting the cold atmosphere in the room touch our skin. My bare chest was exposed to the man and his eyes widened. I gripped Katniss' hand under the sheets and gave her a nervous look.

"Oh no the kids have screwed around in the bed. I'm going to have to wash the sheets and clean up before the people get here," the man huffed. He ran his hand through his hair and then turned back to us. "Answer my question! What in the hell are y'all doing in this room?"

"We weren't screwing around I can tell you that," Katniss pointed out.

The man's face was turning redder by the second with frustration. I could promise you that he was growing gray hairs right there in front of us.

"How did your scrawny asses get in here anyway?" he questioned angrily.

"We picked the lock. We had nowhere else to sleep, sir. We are sorry sir." I apologized hoping he won't get any angrier than he already is.

"Well I'm damn sure y'all can't stay here! Now get the hell out before I call the cops on your asses," the man yelled.

Katniss and I scrambled out of the beds and grabbed our shoes. We grabbed our clothed that were on the floor and stuffed them in our bags. The rest of our things were already packed, being ready for anything. It was Katniss' idea that we kept all of our things packed, just in case something like what happened in Gotson would happen again. I grabbed my jacket and hastily put it on. Katniss and I walked out of the room and went down the hall. But the man who kicked us out the room wasn't finished with us just yet.

He came up to us and grabbed the back of Katniss' shirt and my jacket and yanked them up. Our shoulders hunched up simultaneously and we started to go faster. The man was roughly and rudely shoving us down the stairs. I know I saw Katniss almost trip on a couple of steps, stumbling on them as I was dragging behind her. The man roughly shoved us through the door leading into the lobby, and then doing the same with the front door. Katniss and I both hit the ground with a hard thud. We both grunted and groaned from the impact. I turned from my stomach and looked back at the man, who had his arms slightly out and his eyebrows knit together in rage. His whole torso was rising and with deep breath the man was taking, which was a lot.

"Now if I see y'all anywhere near this building ever again, yawl's asses will be in a jail cell before y'all can even blink," he muttered through clenched teeth before storming through the complex's doors. I flinched as he was able to slam the heavy doors. I looked back at Katniss who was rubbing her neck. I guessing the neck line of the shirt was choking her when the man was pulling on it. I scooted over to her and my thumb over the front of her neck.

"Are you alright babe?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine thanks," she kissed my cheek.

We gathered our things and fix ourselves. I put my bag back on my shoulders and huffed. I looked back at Katniss and gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about all of this. None of this has been going according to plan," I apologized. Katniss came up to me and took my hand.

"Look, you didn't cause that man to kick us out. None of this is your fault," she comforted.

"But we have been chased by cops and have been kicked out by the apartment manager. We shouldn't be worrying about where we are sleeping tonight. You should be worrying about what earrings you should wear today and I'm supposed to be thinking about what to do next to impress you or something!"

I ran my hand through my hair and looked up to the sky. Now I have to find a new place to stay. I don't like moving Katniss so much. I want to keep her in one place where we can be happy and only care about ourselves.

"Well, we've just had a rough start. We will get through this," Katniss told me. I nodded and we started walking down the street.

I know we had a rough start but I didn't want it. We were supposed to find a place to stay and settle in. I was supposed to make sure she was safe. But all we have been getting is trouble by authorities and apartment building managers. I guess it's just a guy thing, the feeling that they have to provide for the ones they love. Katniss may be okay with this, but I'm not satisfied.

I kicked a rock down the street as we walked. I don't know how long we have been walking, but I know it has been awhile. Katniss still held my hand as we walked. We soon reached a small subdivision. I let go of Katniss' hand and put it around her waist. I don't even know how we ended up here but I didn't like it. The houses were old and breaking down. A small ghetto is what it reminded me of. All of the houses were one story and had porches. Every once in a while, I would see a person in a chair sitting on their porch, giving us a weird look. I didn't blame them. I mean a couple of white kids with DC flex caps on their heads did stick out in this community. And there was nothing white in this neighborhood. No white cars, no white houses, not even a white cat or dog. We looked like we were trying too hard to fit in.

We passed this one house that made me a little nervous. There was yelling going on inside, and they didn't sound like cheers of joy. I looked at Katniss and her eyes were wide, still glued to the house. I tightened my grip around her waist as we walked a little faster past the house. I heard a stomping sound crescendo as we past it. We were soon past the house when I heard someone come stomping out the house. The screen door slammed and a person came out the house. I heard her steps reach the pavement of the broken sidewalk before they spoke.

"HEY!" a tough sounding woman yelled behind us.

Katniss and I quickly turned our heads around to see the person who was yelling. She had on a baggy T-shirt and some jeans, and was staring right at us.

"What are y'all doing out here? Or in a place like this?" she questioned us.'

My mouth was hanging open with words stuck in it. I was just about to answer when Katniss bolts for the woman. She yelled out a name and ran into her arms. The lady gave her a hug back. I stood there frozen at the scene, confused. Then I recognized the woman. It was Reesha from the prison. How could I not recognize her? I let out a breath of air and walked over to them.

"Hey Reesha," I greeted as I gave her a hug. She squeezed me tight and released me.

"What are you guys doing out here? How did y'all escape?" she questioned.

"We snuck out through the courtyard and hopped the fence during the riot," Katniss answered.

Reesha nodded and blinked at us. Reesha then told us how she had to beat a few cops to get her escape. But she was able to get a ride and come strait here. Reesha invited us into her house and told us to make ourselves comfortable. Unconsciously, I sat down and pulled Katniss onto my lap. Reesha gave us a confused look at first, but then it morphed into a wide eyes and a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Oh my God! Did lover boy here finally make his move?" she gasped sarcastically. I blushed and Katniss laughed.

"Yeah, he finally did," Katniss confirmed. I gave her a quick peck on her lips and smiled. Reesha "awed" and clapped for us.

"About time, huh Peeta," Reesha teased. Katniss laughed even harder and I rolled my eyes.

Reesha teased us for a little while longer before getting serious.

"Do y'all have a place to stay?" she asked. We shook our heads.

"Just got kicked out of an apartment room this morning," I said.

"Well, I have an extra room if you guys want to stay in that" Reesha offered.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Katniss asked warily. Reesha waved her hand and scoffed.

"Yeah it is! Or about as safe you are going to get when you're a wanted convict," Reesha added.

I blinked at her last statement. But then Katniss and I gathered our things and followed Reesha to a room. It was small and had one bed in the center of it. Katniss and I laid our stuff onto the bed and huffed. Reesha came back with pillows and sheets and laid them back on the bed.

"Now these are freshly cleaned sheets, I just washed these yesterday. Control yawl selves and don't do anything. I don't want to wash these sheets again anytime soon," she said and walked out the room, leaving Katniss and I with bright red faces.

"And no one wants to hear that anyway!" she shouted from the other room.

"REESHA!" Katniss shouted back

"And I don't have enough room or food for another person either," Reesha continued.

"REESHA!" Katniss and I both yelled.

"We get it," I yelled into the other room. "Still virgins you know."

"Well then why were you walking down the street with no shirt on?" Reesha asked, sticking her head back through the door frame.

"Because Katniss has it on," I responded pointing to my girlfriend.

"And why does she have it on?" Reesha continued to question.

"Because she wanted to wear it."

"And what do people do after sleeping together?"

"Cuddle?"

"Yes but after that."

"Change into clothes."

"And the girl usually changes into what?"

"The guys shirt." I concluded.

Reesha smirked and I looked down, shaking my head. I walked right into that one. I looked over to Katniss who was blushing more than I could even imagine. Reesha laughed and left the room, yelling back us not to screw around in the bed.

We walked back out into the main room and saw that Reesha was smoking a joint. Smoke filled the room and I coughed, choking on the air. Reesha looked back at us and handed us a small box. Katniss opened it and widened her eyes. I took the box and looked inside. There were about twenty pre-made rolls of marijuana joints in the box. I looked back at Reesha who was waving me off.

"Go ahead and take one if you want one," she said as she took another drag of her own. I looked back at Katniss who was surprisingly already taking one out of the box. I looked back at her with my mouth gaping. She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Might as well try it while we can," she said. "I mean, there are other teens our age that do this stuff right?"

Katniss handed me the box and went over to Reesha, who lit it for her.

"OOOO, Katniss is going rogue. First you and Peeta got yawls hair colored and now doing Mary Jane. What else did y'all do?" Reesha questioned.

"Well Peeta got studs in his ears and I got a belly button piercing," Katniss stated, lifting her shirt to show our new roommate. Reesha laughed and took another drag. Katniss took a drag of hers and sat down, coughing slightly.

We did do a lot of risky things while since of the prison break. And I may never get another chance to do this again. I mean what the hell. I grabbed one out of the box and went to Reesha. She lit the joint for me and I took a drag. I coughed for a minute but then I got use to it. After a while, the effects started to kick in. I felt like I was floating on air. I felt like I had no worry in the world. I felt….great! I took drag after drag until my joint was nearly gone.

We just sat there for a while after that, enjoying the effects of the drug. Relaxing and just cruising. Until someone came barging through the door. Others soon followed, with bandanas covering the lower half of their faces. They all held very large guns as they raided the house. A couple of guys grabbed Katniss before I could get to her. I went running towards the men, getting one good punch in before three guys grabbed me by the arms. I heard Reesha scream from across the room. Katniss was also struggling as she screamed for me. I struggled to get out of their grasps as they held tighter. I soon felt pressure at the front and side of my neck. I felt my body slipping as I was soon knocked out.

The world came back into vision as I came back to consciousness. I looked around the room to find it a mess. Everything broken and raided. I looked and found Reesha on the floor not too far from me. I eventually stood up and looked for Katniss. She was nowhere to be found. I ran through every room, calling out her name. I started to panic. I ran over to Reesha and shook her awake.

"REESHA! REESHA KATNISS IS GONE!" I yelled. Reesha soon came to and rubbed her eyes.

"Who the hell were those guys anyway?" I asked.

"Drug lords," she responded "They came looking for drugs."

"Well then where is Katniss?" I yelled.

"They probably took her. Holding her until someone coughs up where the stash of drugs are." Reesha explained.

"What the hell are they going to do with a white girl? They should possibly know that she wouldn't know where the drugs are," I asked her.

"The person who is holding all of the drugs is white. They probably thought she was his daughter or something."

"Then why didn't they take me also?"

"Beats me."

I huffed in frustration and ran my hands through my hair. Katniss is gone, and drug lords took her. My love is gone.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Some have reviewed for more action and more cliff hangers. So I gave what you asked for. Tell me what you think. More action? More cliff hangers? Tell me in the reviews. I don't know how I'm doing if my readers don't tell me. Review, favorite, and follow! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello my fellow readers! I should really change up my greeting…this one is getting old. But I have another chapter for y'all. This chapter will actually be in Katniss' POV, so I hope y'all like the change. ENJOY!**

Chapter 15: Katniss POV

A piece of fabric was ripped from my head and I squinted at the dim light. I was sitting in a chair, my legs tied to the legs of the chair. My arms were also tied with a thick piece of rope behind the chair. My torso was pressed against the table as someone shoved my chair forward. I opened my eyes a little more as my eyes adjusted, even though the only light source was a fixture hanging from the ceiling.

A man came from the shadows of the room and walked around to the opposite side of the table. He was a tan man with a strong muscular build. The man was most likely Hispanic, with his hair cut short. He had tattoos all over his arm and neck. I even saw some ink markings peaking from the neckline of his white tank top. The man had a mean smirk planted on his face and half a toothpick hanging out the corner of his mouth. He plopped into a chair and put his arms on the table, eyeing me intently.

"What's your name sweet cheeks?" the man huskily asked

"Why would I tell you my name? I'm a girl, not stupid," I snapped at the man.

"I do not see the difference personally," he implied.

"How about you tell me your name first?" I insisted. "Then I'll tell you mine."

The man thought, then leaned onto the table a little more, resting on his forearms.

"They call me Mercutio. They call me that because I always stand up for myself, honoring my name and not letting anyone disrespect me nor my name," the man explained.

"Well people believed that Mercutio was actually gay and was in love with Romeo. Are you sure that's isn't why they are calling you Mercutio?" I tested.

The man's smirk faded from his face and a scowl replaced it. He leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms.

"Ha ha, this girl has some jokes doesn't she," Mercutio stated. "Now what is your name?"

"I ain't telling you! Now who's the stupid one?" I scoffed.

That pushed him over the edge. Mercutio then came over to me and gave a loud sounding slap across my face. My head jerked to the side as I clenched my teeth. I faced the man again and he was breathing heavily.

"If I don't take any bullshit from my boys, I definitely won't take any from you," he hissed through his clenched teeth. I didn't respond as he went back over to his chair and sat down.

"What am I doing here anyway? What was the point of taking me?" I questioned. The man interlocked his fingers together and chuckled.

"We are going to hold you until your father coughs up the drugs that he stole," he told me. I gave him a confused look.

"My dad doesn't deal drugs. You've got the wrong girl," I advised. The man shook his head and looked back at me.

"Now why should I believe you when you say that?" Mercutio said. I huffed and looked down. "You already proved to me that you are a liar."

"Well then, if my dad was a drug dealer, then why am I in a house in the ghetto?" I smirked.

"To hide his precious little girl, to keep her safe," Mercutio explained. I rolled my eyes.

"In a drug house?"

Mercutio was about to continue when a door slamming interrupted him. I heard a person coming closer as a body emerged from the shadows. A tall boy came and stood next to Mercutio. The looked at me and smirked. I sighed. Shit, I knew him.

"This is the girl you were talking about, uncle? Daughter of the big man?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, this is her. I told you that she was near your age," Mercutio told his nephew. The boy looked back at me and smirked once again.

"Nice to see you again, Katniss," the boy said, amused to see me tied up.

"Wait, you already know this girl, Gale?" Mercutio asked surprised. Gale walked over to my chair and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. This girl turned me down at the fair I went to the fair in Gotson. I had some time to spare when you sent me on that trip there for a shipment," Gale explained. He turned to me and got in my face. "See what you missed out on? You could have anything you want. Jewelry, clothes, purses, anything you could have possibly wanted with me. but instead, you went with the blonde boy. I'm giving you one last chance, a last chance to be with me."

I spat in the boy's face, causing him to stand up and stumble backwards a bit.

"I would never be with you. You disgust me," I spat at him. "No matter what you give me. My boyfriend gives me everything I need."

Gale wiped his face off in his hand and looked at me with hard eyes.

"You bitch. You will be mine. And your little boyfriend of yours will pay for keeping you away from me," Gale sneered

The door slammed once again and two more bodies came from the shadows of the room. Two long and lanky boys came to Mercutio, each one on each side of the large man.

"Mercutio!" one said. "I know now where I've seen this girl before!"

Mercutio turned his attention to the lanky boy to his right. He raised his eyebrows for him to continue.

The boy continued. "This girl isn't the big man's daughter. This girl's name is Katniss Everdeen. She's an escaped convict sir. She escaped prison almost two weeks ago sir."

"Prison?" Mercutio asked surprised. "What would a child be doing in prison?"

"Well they said that her crime was so gruesome and horrible that she deserved to be up in prison."

"Well what was her crime?" Mercutio questioned. The boy shrugged. The other boy spoke up though.

"She killed a man and surgically opened him up. The article said that his organs were showing and everything. She has been in there for four years so far. She was only ten when they put her in there."

Mercutio and Gale looked at me, eyebrows raised. I bet they were surprised someone like me did such a thing, and at such a young age. Even though I didn't do it, I'm going to let them think I did it, to let them know that I'm not the person to mess with. I cracked my neck by moving my head from side to side. I rolled my shoulders and looked at Gale strait in the eye.

"I'm not the girl to be messed with," I growled. Mercutio laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding. What did the man do? Steal your cookies or something?" Mercutio laughed.

"But that's not all sir," the lanky boy who described my crime spoke. Mercutio turned his head behind him and looked at the boy.

"What else is there?" Mercutio demanded.

"She is wanted with a blonde kid, named Peeta Mellark," the teenager continued.

"So the kid we saw at the house was from the prison, too?" Mercutio asked. The boy nodded. Mercutio then turned back to me.

"So you and your little boyfriend we a killing couple huh?" he hollered, showing off a huge smile.

"No. I didn't meet him until after a year I was in prison," I corrected. "He committed his own crime to get into the prison."

"Well, what did the little bastard do to get into prison?"

"Murder."

Mercutio looked back over to the lanky boy to his left, asking for clarification. The boy spoke again

"He killed a man. But he chopped up his victim and hanged the body parts from the ceiling. Even pinned the torso to the wall. He did that when he was ten also."

Mercutio turned his attention to the ground, muttering something about jacked up children now a days.

Mercutio looked back up at the boy. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Since they are wanted, there is a reward for their return. Three million. Each."

Mercutio's eyes lit up. He straightened up his body and folded his arms.

"Three million each huh? Well, that's a lot of money we can get," Mercutio contemplated.

"Yes sir," both of the skinny boys responded.

"Well then. Instead of keeping you for the drugs, we will keep you for the reward money. We will turn you and your lover in once he comes to rescue you." Mercutio laughed and clapped his hands together.

Mercutio turned to the two tall and lanky boys, telling them to get my room ready for me. and to make sure there is no way that I could get out.

"Well I have room in my bed. She can sleep with me," Gale smirked

"No Gale. We don't want to endure her with that much torture," Mercutio said. Gale frowned at his uncle's comment. All of the men except Gale left the room. I was all alone with the boy of my nightmares. He circled my chair once before stopping in front of me. He got into my face again.

"I can't wait for you to be mine," he whispered in my ear. He kissed my neck and I fidgeted at his touch.

"I will never be yours," I spat.

"Yes you will. And once that boyfriend of yours is in my grasp I will kick his ass myself,"

"He will come for me, but we will leave together as one."

"We'll see about that."

Gale took his hands and grabbed my face harshly. He forced his lips onto mine for a few seconds before pulling back. He smirked and left the room while everyone else was coming back in. man I hope Peeta comes soon. But I hope he comes with back-up. And fast.

**Another chapter is finished! I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me how I did. Review, follow, and favorite! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey! I'm back with another chapter! And I know I've taken a bigger gap between this and the last chapter. I have been busy with things. But I'm here now! Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! ENJOY!**

Chapter 16: Peeta POV

My hands were behind my back as I paced back and forth in the living room. I was running out of time and ideas on how I can get back Katniss. Getting her back seemed impossible, but I was going to get her back one way or another. I'm not going anywhere without her.

I stopped pacing and ran my hands through my hair in frustration. I put my hands on my hips and huffed out a breath of air, looking at the ground.

"Do you have any ideas, Reesha?" I asked desperately, looking up.

Reesha was tapping a pen to her bottom lip, biting it slightly. She looked up at me and ceased all other movements. She stared at me for a moment before nodding her head.

"Yeah, I might have a few ideas."

I smiled at the realization that we could get Katniss back safe. Or at least somewhere to start.

"Well, let's hear them!" I huffed, sitting down in a chair.

Reesha sat up in her seat leaning her arms on her knees. I copied her and listened carefully with anticipation.

"Well I have a few connections," she said quietly. "They can help us out, like with weapon and man power."

I smiled and leaned back in my chair.

"Yes! Yes, this could work! And with all the man power, we can storm into the place and get Katniss back!"

By the time I finished talking, I was standing up with excitement. I let out another sigh and looked back at Reesha. She was standing up as well, grabbing her keys off the counter. I gave her a questioning look.

"Do you think that they will have all of the man power today?" I asked. Reesha scoffed and threw her hand.

"Hell yeah! Plus, I think we can get extra people if we tell them that's it's just not a rescue mission," Reesha implied.

"What do you mean 'not just a rescue mission'?" I questioned.

"I mean," Reesha walked in close to me. "if we say that they can get drugs, more people will be willing to do it."

I make an "O" shape with my mouth as I finally understood what Reesha was implying. I nodded at her and Reesha copied. We soon walked out the door, hopeful we could get the help we need.

Reesha and I arrived at an abandoned warehouse about fifteen minutes away from the house. We were standing at what appeared to be the entrance. I couldn't even tell it was the entry way, with it covered with so much graffiti and other markings. Reesha slammed her fist on the thick metal door, and loud booms echoed behind me. Reesha looked around, I'm guessing to see if anyone was around, which nobody was. Her head snapped back to the door as we heard someone on the other side of the door. A slide on the door slid open and a man eyes appeared through the opening.

"Who's out there?" a man voice boomed. I felt my eyes widen at the shocking baritone in his voice.

"Jacobi, its Reesha! Now open this damn door!" Reesha whispered loudly. The man slid the metal slider shut and opened the door. A very large man appeared on the other side. He had very bulky muscles and…let's just say that he is a darker version of Terry Crews. I looked up at the man to find him staring wide eyed at me.

"Reesha you brought a white kid?" he exclaimed. He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me in. Reesha followed and the door slammed shut behind me. Jacobi walked around me and faced Reesha.

"What were you thinking bringing a little white kid over here?" He practically yelled. "You're going to get us noticed and eventually caught!"

"Aw no one saw us," Reesha tried to reason.

"Someone probably did, it's a white kid! I don't know if you haven't noticed, but there ain't nothin' in this hood that is white. And I mean NO-THIN',"

"Ok enough! We aren't here to buy drugs. We are here to make a deal."

Jacobi crossed his arms around his chest and knit his eyebrows together and looked back between Reesha and me.

"What is a honky gonna give to me? Bland tasting apple pie? White people's disease and I lose all sense of rhythm?" he ranted. I decided that I had enough of the insults and cut in.

"No. I came to offer you some fried chicken and watermelon, with a side of cornbread and grape Kool-Aid!" I growled, feeling offended by his earlier comments.

"Okay that's enough!" Reesha interrupted, smiling slightly by the recent statements we said before. "We need help. We were hoping that you could give us some guns and some men."

"Why should I give this cracka anything?" Jacobi argued.

"Because if you do, you can really stock up on all the drugs you want," she suggested.

The large man's eyes went large and stepped back. He then nodded and led us to another room. The room was filled with smoke from pot and coke. There was men playing pool and others just sitting around, playing cards or dominos. All of the looked towards the door to see who just entered. And as I suspected, all of them were shocked to see a white person in their presence.

"Okay listen up! We're gonna take a little trip into town. We are going to stock up on inventory tonight!"

All of the people inside gave him and each other a sarcastic "really?" look. One of the guys in the room spoke up.

"With the marshmallow?"

I frowned. Man, these people have a lot of names for white people.

"Yes, with the boy. He'll explain everything ," Jacobi told the large group. All of the eyes trained on me. I gulped and walked over to the center of the room. I clapped my hands together and inhaled deeply.

"Alright guys, my name is Peeta and we have two objectives to meet tonight. Our main priority is to save a girl," I started, but I was soon interrupted.

"Is she white, too?" one shouted.

"Why does it matter?" I say "But yeah she is."

"Is she just a girl or _your_ girl?" another yelled across the room

"She's my girl," I answered. "But enough with the questions. I will answer any remaining questions at the end." The room fell silent. I continued.

"She was taken by drug dealers. I don't know where they are or what they are doing to her. But we have to get her before they do something to hurt her," I explained.

"What's in it for us?" one asked.

"Well since they are drug dealers, I'm guessing that there will be drugs for you to take," I explained. "So I was hoping that half of us charge through the front and the other half charge through the back. We can get what we came in there for and then we can leave. Whadaya say?"

They are murmur and whisper among themselves and then silence fell over the room once again. Some give curt nods and I know that they are with me. I turn to Jacobi to see what's next. He leads the other people in the room out into a hallway and I follow. I go into the room and stop not too far from the entrance. The room was filled with all types of guns. They filled the walls from floor to ceiling. They varied from small hand guns to large shoulder guns. I then felt a little shove on my shoulder and a large man appeared at my side a second later.

"Bear yourself man. Grab something small though," Jacobi offered. I go to the wall and grab two hand guns. I shoved them in the waistband of my pants and walked out the room. The other guys all piled back into the room with the games and sat back down.

"Alright," I said. "We leave tonight."

One guy in the group claimed that he had knowledge of where the people were. He had a pretty good idea of who took my Katniss. He said that a gang of drug leaders always came around, terrorizing and invading their drug gang. We had no other led onto who else would have taken her. So we head there once night took over the city.

I was standing next to Reesha outside a large abandoned factory. Half of the group was with us, the other half was with Jacobi at the back of the factory. Reesha had a walkie-talkie in her hand, waiting for the okay to charge into the building. The cool wind was blowing, pushing my hair back. The night was silent and so were we. After a few minutes, Jacobi came over on the walkie-talkie saying that it was time. Reesha came up to me and looked up at me.

"Ready?" she asked. I looked down and gave her a short nod. I took my hat from the waistband behind me and put it on my head, lowering it over my eyes.

"Ready," I confirm.

A strong guy of the group knocked the door down as we came to the building. We all stormed in, with guns in hand. The people in the old building stumbled onto their feet and hurriedly reached for their guns. Too bad they weren't fast enough as my group either beat them to the ground or just straight up shot them. I went inside past everyone with Reesha to look for Katniss. We cautiously turned corners and checked rooms on the way. There was no sign of Katniss and I was getting worried. Did they already get rid of her? Did they move her to another location? If she was dead, I would never forgive myself.

Reesha and I glanced around one corner and saw two people guarding a door. We brought our heads back around the wall and looked at each other.

"Katniss must be in there," Reesha said

"Well what are we going to do?"

Reesha didn't answer. Instead, she went around the corner and gunshots were fired. I heard groans and soon bodies slump to the ground. I peeked around the corner again to find the guards lying on the ground lifeless. I swallowed, hoping to hold down the bile that was threatening to come up. I walked to the door and stepped over the bodies. Reesha left me to go help out the others. I took one gun from the waistband of my jeans and held it tight, ready to shoot if needed. I grabbed the door handle to figure out that it was locked. I looked down at the now dead guards, realizing that one of them probably had the keys. I, already feeling sick by just looking at the bodies, decided that I would rather break my foot trying to kick down the door than searching the body for the keys.

I stood back and kicked the door. A loud bang echoed the hallway, but the door didn't budge. I kicked the door a second time. Nothing. I kicked the door a third time and the doors busted open. I heard a scream as I entered the room. Katniss was on the bed huddled against her bed frame her knees against her chest and her arms guarding her face. I walked over to her and put a clam hand to her back.

"Hey, no need to be scared. It's just me." I said

Katniss' head shot up at the sound of my voice. My blue eyes met her gray ones, the beautiful gray eyes I haven't seen in over 24 hours.

"Peeta," she whispered.

I took her into my arms and held her tight. She held me back and cried slightly into my shoulder. She pulled back from me slightly and gave me a kiss on the lips. I pulled back a second later because of the seriousness of the situation. Katniss nodded.

"I know," she said quietly. "I just missed you."

"I missed you, too. I missed you so much," I whispered back, giving her one more kiss. "C'mon, we need to get you out of here."

I took Katniss' hand and took her out the door. Katniss gasped at the sight of the bodies, but took the sight better than I did and kept moving. We were halfway down the hallway when I heard something that made Katniss freeze in her tracks.

"Where do you think you're going with my girl?"

**OOOOO what's going to happen next? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out. Review, follow, and favorite! They make my day! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	17. Chapter 17

**I think I have kept y'all waiting long enough. I'm here to save my readers by providing another chapter for them! You're welcome. ENJOY!**

Chapter 17: Peeta POV

I silently cursed myself as I recognized the voice. I could tell Katniss recognized the voice as well as I heard her mumble something under her breath. Katniss and I turned around, lacing our hands together again after the transition. The boy from the park was before me, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. I gasped as I saw that the boy wasn't alone. There were now seven very large men standing behind him. I knew at that point that I wouldn't be able to take Katniss back without getting caught. I have failed Katniss, again. Will I be able to do anything right?

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you stupid?" the boy yelled, infuriated.

"No, but I'm guessing you are if you thought you could get away with this!" I spat back

The boy got a smirk on his face and chuckled to himself. Of course he already got away with this, I mean, where else are we going to go to? We could go back the way we came, but I bet those guys will quickly catch up with us. Maybe if we ran really fast, maybe…

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked.

"I'm in this business. And what Gale wants, Gale gets, so I'm only going to ask this one more time. Where do you think you are going with my girl?" Gale hissed through his teeth.

I unconsciously scrunched my face up in anger towards Gale's question. Katniss wasn't _his_ girl. Katniss is _my_ girl, and will always be if I have anything to say about it. I pulled Katniss closer to my side before I answered.

"I don't know where_ your_ girl is, but I'm taking _my_ girl out of here," I replied.

Gale started to laugh again, and said a small side comment to one of the large guys behind him. Probably telling them to get us in a second. I took that small moment of distraction to whisper to Katniss.

"Run on three," I whispered quickly. She nodded next to me without making eye contact.

Gale turned back to us, a smile still on his face. The guys behind him were in a certain stance, the kind you get in to before you go into a full-blown sprint. I tapped Katniss' hand once with my finger, issuing count one.

"I don't think you're going anywhere," Gale remarked. I tapped Katniss' hand again. Count two.

"We'll see about that," I smirked. Tapped it again. Count three.

Katniss and I turn around and run as fast as we can, my feet doing a Scooby-Doo effect for a moment before my feet grip the floor under me. We let go of each other's hands as we turned the corner. I heard Gale yell his large friends to come after us as we zoomed down the hallway. Katniss turned a corner and I followed. The stampede of footsteps followed us down the hallway. But fortunately, the stomping sounded distant. The hallway got darker and darker as we descended the long, narrow pathway. I slowed down my pace, being unable to see that much in front of me anymore.

"Katniss?" I called out into the darkness. I wasn't sure if she answered because I ran smack into a wall. I fell backwards onto my back and let out a loud "oof". I moaned a little as I laid there on the floor, unable to get up.

"C'mon get up! I know you're probably in a lot of pain right now but we really have to go," Katniss attempted, trying to get me up.

I put my hand on my forehead where it hit the wall. I sat up, trying to regain myself. Katniss removed my hand from my forehead and kiss the sore spot on my head. She stood back up and helped me back up. I was about to start running again when strong hands on my arm prevented me from doing so. I yanked my arms, trying to get out of the grasps of the men on me. I heard Katniss struggle to get away as well as they caught her also.

"Get your hands off of me!" Katniss growled.

I could hear her trying to kick her way out, as her feet were constantly hitting the floor with loud thumps. The people dragged us out of the hallway, from the way we came. We reached the opening of the dark hallway to find Gale waiting there for us, with the same smirk plastered on his face. I struggled again in my kidnapper's hands, wanting to slap Gale's smirk right off his face.

"Didn't I say that you wouldn't get away," he said, close to my face. My face scrunched up again, and my breathing was hard and labored. Gale looked back up to the guys holding us captive. "Take them to Mercutio. I bet he will be ecstatic to see that we caught the boy."

The large guys then shove us down the hallway, keeping tight grips on our arms. I'm pretty sure that Katniss will get bruises if they are holding her as tight as they are with me. After a maze of hallways, they shove Katniss and I into large double doors. The room was luxurious, with nice sofas and coffee tables. A large man, who I'm guessing is Mercutio, sat behind a desk. His feet were on the furniture and had a burning cigar in his mouth. He smiled as Katniss and I were forced to our knees before him. Mercutio sat up in his chair, taking his feet off the desk.

"Well, it looks like we have caught the boy!" the man shouts. He laughs loudly, throwing his hands in the air. "We're gonna be rich!"

All of the people yelled and shouted in celebration. I looked over to Katniss, who had fear in her eyes. As far as I can infer, they are going to turn us in for the reward money.

"We are going with the changed plan, right Uncle?" Gale asked. Mercutio, which I know now, is Gale's uncle, nodded.

"Of course!" exclaimed Mercutio.

"You're not going to turn both of us in?" Katniss questioned.

"No. We will just turn the boy in and keep you for my nephew here," Mercutio explained.

I yanked my arms furiously, desperately trying to get out of their grasps. There was no way in hell that I was letting them touch Katniss. I wouldn't let them get away with something like that. But then Gale went over to Katniss while they yanked her up. Gale took Katniss' face in his large hands and roughly kissed her. She groaned in protest and squirmed at his move. Gale gave off a big smack of his lips and faced me.

"I told you I always get what I want," he smirks. I heard someone clap their hands once and sigh.

"Alright, let's get them out of here," Mercutio demanded. The large guys brought me up to my feet and pushed me to the doors once again. But I didn't get anywhere near the doors as people came barging in. thank God for Reesha and her timing.

"Where do you think you are going with my friends here?" Reesha yelled at the men holding Katniss and me. Reesha nodded her head towards the men holding us and her back-up started shooting the large men in non-fatal places, like forearms and feet. The men holding us captive let go and yelped in pain, some falling to the floor.

That caused the room to go in total chaos, with gun shots going off everywhere and with people falling. I took Katniss' hand and pulled her to the door. We stepped out of the room and I stopped. Gale was moaning on the ground, being shot in the bottom half of his leg. I kicked Gale as hard as I could in his jaw, his side, his groin, everywhere. I also took the joy and spat on his face before taking off with Reesha. She led us to a get-away car and loaded us in. we drove off, leaving dust behind us. I looked back at the building, seeing that Jacobi and his people were loading up their trucks and cars with the drugs they came here for. I looked back at Katniss and took her into my arms, holding her tight.

"Don't worry, I've got you now," I comforted. We soon reached Reesha's place and we locked the doors. I went to our bedroom and grabbed my stuff. Katniss followed and did the same. We were heading towards the front door when Reesha stopped us.

"Where y'all goin'," she asked

"Out," I said. "It isn't safe for us here."

"Yes it is," she tried to reason. "That kidnapping thing was just bad timing."

I was about to respond when Katniss cut me off.

"Hell naw! I ain't 'bout to stay up in this place! Have ya gone mad? Peeta and I are gonna take our chances back in the city. There ain't nothin' here for us in this part of town no way," she argued at Reesha.

Reesha and I both stared at Katniss. Where the hell did she learn to speak like that? I looked back at Reesha who was shaking her head.

"Yeah, time for y'all to go. Katniss here is starting to talk like us. It's definitely time for y'all to head out," Reesha laughed slightly waving us out the door.

We thanked Reesha for the short amount of time we stayed there and for the rescue mission. She packed us some food to go and told us how to get back to the city without getting near Mercutio's place.

Katniss and I walked a couple of hours back into the part of the city we came from the day before. We walked over to a food court to get some hot food deciding that we didn't want to eat any of the canned food Reesha provided for us. Once we got our food, we realized that we haven't eaten in a couple of days with the mishap. We were making light conversation at the table, mostly me apologizing to Katniss for messing up everything since we left the prison, when a guy appears at our table. Katniss doesn't see him when he puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Katniss? Is that you?" he asked.

**Unfortunately, this is where the chapter ends. Perfect place to end isn't it? Well, don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello my readers! I hope y'all are having a great week so far. I know I am! That's why I am giving you another chapter! ENJOY!**

Chapter 18: Peeta POV

I looked at the boy who claimed to know Katniss. He was tall, was well built, and looked a couple years older than me. His blonde hair was cut short and he had bright blue eyes. He glances quickly at me before looking back down at Katniss. Katniss turned around to look up at the teenager half of her face still visible to me. I saw her eyes go from a look of confusion, to shock, to excitement all within a second.

"Taftan?" Katniss kind of asked, a smile forming on her lips. Why does that name sound so familiar?

"It is you!" the boy, Taftan, shouted, holding his arms out. Katniss stood up from her chair and went into his arms. Taftan hugged Katniss back and swung her around in a circle. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a little jealous and protective. When Taftan sat my girlfriend back down, I got up from my chair and walked around the table to Katniss, putting my arm around her waist. Katniss was still laughing when Taftan looked at me.

"Oh I'm sorry if I stepped too far for your comfort," he raised his hands slightly in surrender. I must have a hard look on my face for him to get that message. Good, that's exactly what I want. I was about to respond when Katniss but in first. Man, she has a habit of doing that.

"No you didn't. He is just jealous some guy that is really cute is hugging me," she implied. I turned my body slightly and faced her.

"I am not jealous!" I lied. I couldn't even convince myself that. And by the look on her face, she didn't buy it either.

"Okay, you're not jealous, just intimidated," she said. I scoffed before Katniss introduced us.

"Taftan, this is my boyfriend, Peeta," she gestured, pointing to me.

"Peeta, this my friend," she put her hands on my chest. "my friend. Did you get that? My FRIEND," she pressed and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I got it, only a friend," I groaned. Katniss smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I looked back at Taftan, his mouth was hanging open slightly.

"Are you ok, Taftan?" Katniss asked concerned. The boy blinked his eyes and shook his head.

"Yeah, it's just that my parents told me that I had a brother at the home before they adopted me," he spoke shakily. Katniss gave him a confused look.

"So? Why are you bringing this up?" Katniss asked

"Because his name was Peeta," Taftan answered, looking up at me. "They wanted to keep us together but my parents couldn't take care of two kids, they only wanted one."

I stood there shocked. That's where I've heard that name before! Some of the older kids at the home told me that when I came in, that a kid named Taftan came the same day. They said that when I was dropped off, all I had was a note stuck in my blanket stating my name and birthday. Some of the kids said that my parents weren't the smartest, saying that they put my last names on the note as well. That's why they kept my last name, instead of giving me the one of all the kids that showed up surprisingly or out of nowhere.

But why should I believe this guy? He could be messing with me for all I know. But….his name is a type of bread as well. Maybe he isn't joking, with my name being a type of bread as well. There was only one way to find out.

"Are you serious, Taftan?" I investigated.

"No," he laughed. "I'm just messing witcha, but I am adopted though" I gave him a glare and Katniss laughed. I knew it.

"C'mon. I have some friends I would like y'all to meet." He said, turning around. Katniss and I looked at each other before getting our food from our table and following him.

We swerved around and between tables until he lead us to the other side of the food court. I wondered with him sitting this far, how was he able to recognize Katniss. Maybe he saw us coming in or something. Or maybe he saw us as he was walking back to his table. But it's nice to know kids my own age. I mean, I haven't had any friends my own age since I was ten. Well, other than Katniss, of course.

Taftan stopped at a table with three other people sitting there. Taftan pulled up two chairs and went to go sit down next to a girl with straight dark brown hair.

Katniss and I sat down in the chairs provided and put our food on the table. Taftan put his arm around the girl he sat next to and sighed.

"Guys," he started. "This is my old friend back from grade school, Katniss. And this is her boyfriend, Peeta." The people at the table smiled and said hey. We smiled back and said greeting back.

"Katniss and Peeta," he pointed to the couple next to us. "This is Finnick and his girlfriend, Annie."

Finnick was what you would call a chick magnet. He had muscles, yet he was slim. He had seemingly perfect bronze hair and green eyes. Annie was good-looking as well, with dark wavy hair, like Katniss. She was slim but also looked strong. She had stunning green eyes as well. Taftan gestured to the girl that he had his arm wrapped around and looked at her.

"And this is my girlfriend Johanna," he beamed, rubbing her arm. She smiled and scooted closer into him.

"So," Taftan continued again. "What brings you to this part of Texas? Missed me too much after I moved huh?"

Scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"As if," she said. The people at the table laughed at Katniss' remark.

"OOOO, this girl is feisty! I like her already!" Finnick said, with his voice slightly raised.

"Yeah, I just moved here a couple of weeks ago," Katniss lied confidently. Taftan just nodded and accepted it. If I was him, I would be questioning how she got a boyfriend so quickly after moving here. If he was thinking it, well he wasn't questioning it.

"How do you like it so far?" Annie spoke up.

"It's been pretty good so far," I lied. Katniss just nodded in agreement.

"Well maybe we can all go out this weekend and we can show you all the cool places in town," Johanna suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Annie chimed back in. "We can pick you up from your house and go from there."

"Yeah where do you live, Katniss?" Finnick asked

Katniss rubbed the back of her neck, probably thinking of an excuse. I hope it's as believable as the last one.

"Well you see," she started. "My parents and I got into a huge fight and they kicked me out of the house, telling me to find another place to sleep tonight," she told them. Everyone at the table stared at her with wide eyes.

"They kicked you out?" Johanna said shocked.

"Yeah, apparently if I can't follow their rules under their roof, I can't live in their house anymore," Katniss responded.

"What did they kick you out for?" Annie asked.

"Well, I got highlights in my hair. And I got a navel piercing," she shrugged.

"Well I have an extra room at my house. You can stay there if you want to. I know my parents won't mind," Taftan offered

Katniss looked at me, silently asking me to save her. I know that we need a place to stay, but we can't bring these people into our business. I don't want to bring them any trouble.

"That's really nice of you, but you don't have to. We can find a place to sleep for the night," I say. I immediately cringed at what I said as I saw Taftan's eyes get even wider.

"You need a place to stay too? Well then I insist that you stay as well," Taftan offered again. I was about to deny his offer again when he cut me off. "I won't take no for an answer." I sighed and gave in.

"Yeah, I would love to take you up on that offer," I agreed. Taftan smiled and got up from his chair.

"Great! Let me show you where you are going to stay."

Everybody got up from the table and headed out the mall. Finnick and Annie bid their goodbyes and headed off in their own car. The rest of us went into Taftan's car and drove to his house. the drive was short and quiet but it was fine with us.

We pulled up to this large house that was just spectacular! The house was a badge color and had large pillars near the front door. There was an elegant fountain in the middle of the yard. The lawn was cut short and everything was neat. This house just took my breath away. I've never seen anything like it. We got out of the car and grabbed our packs. We walked into the house and I was stunned again. Big chandeliers hung from the ceiling, making the marble floors sparkle and give off a glare. Everything was so clean and so organized. Taftan closed the door behind us and walked in front of us.

"Mom? Dad? I have visitors for you to meet," Taftan yelled into the large house.

"We are in the kitchen," I heard the mom yell. Taftan looked back at us and told us to follow him. He led us to the kitchen where a petite woman was washing dishes and a man was reading a book at the table.

"Hey guys. Do y'all remember Katniss?" Taftan asked. The parents stopped what they were doing and looked at us. The mother dried off her hands and walked over to Katniss.

"Oh honey, it has been so long!" she cried, hugging Katniss.

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Lewis," Katniss said politely.

"They need a place to stay for a while, mom," Taftan mentioned.

"Well they can stay for as long as they like," the dad confirmed.

"Thank you Mr. Lewis. It is so nice for you to let us stay for a while," I said. They said their 'welcomes' and the mom came over to me.

"And who might this young man be?" the mother asked.

"I'm Peeta Mellark, Katniss' boyfriend," I answered. She shook my hand and smiled.

"Well if you Katniss' boyfriend, then you must be a very nice boy," she theorized. I thanked her and Taftan took us to our rooms.

Taftan explained how his dad is the mayor of the town, and the reason for the large house. he showed Katniss and I our separate rooms and went to take his girlfriend home. I felt a little guilty for completely forgetting she was there since we got here. Katniss gave me a quick kiss before leaving me for her room. I sat my stuff down on the bed and huffed as I landed on the bed. I hope living here would be better Katniss. For the both of us. But with all of the things that have been happening so far, that's not going to happen.

**What do you think? Tell me in the reviews. I go and read every one of them. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey my readers! I am so sorry for not updating! I had End of Course testing all of this week and I was loaded down with homework. I know some of y'all don't like to hear those excuses but they are true. I mean I always update WAY more often than this and this is the longest gap between chapters I have ever done. So you know I have been busy. So not to hold you any longer, here is chapter 19. ENJOY!**

Chapter 19: Peeta POV

A couple of soft knocks came from the other side of the bedroom door as I was warming up to the day.

"Hey, Peeta, breakfast is ready," Taftan said from the other side of the door. I heard footsteps walk away from the door and soon fade away. I rubbed the palm of my hands over my eyes and gently woke Katniss awake.

Katniss came into my room late at night, probably around midnight. She appeared at the foot of my bed, looking adorable as she held on tight to a small stuffed animal I won for her at the fair. She said that she couldn't sleep and asked if she could sleep with me. I don't even know why she was asking, it wasn't like I was going to say no. I told her that she didn't have to ask and she could have just crawled in bed with me.

She crawled into the bed with me, apologizing for waking me up. I told that I wasn't asleep. And I really wasn't. I couldn't sleep without Katniss next to me. Maybe that was the same reason she couldn't sleep either. Katniss snuggled into my arms and rested her head on my chest. I kissed the top of her head and softly sang the song I sang for her at the park until she fell asleep.

I slowly got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. I fixed my unruly hair and exited the bathroom to find Katniss still in bed. I went over to her side and gently shook her awake.

"Babe, breakfast is ready," I said near her ear. I only got a moan in response. I huffed and straightened back up. This girl wasn't going to get up, unless… I bent down again and placed my lips on hers. She was unresponsive at first, but soon started to kiss me back. I pulled away to find my girl's eyes finally open. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Ah," I whispered. "There are those beautiful eyes I've been looking for." She smiled and kissed me once more getting out of bed. She was about to head into the bathroom when another knock came from outside my door.

"Oh and you don't have to get dressed for breakfast. You can just come down in your pajamas." Taftan informed us. Katniss brushed through her hair and walked down to breakfast. I followed her into the kitchen to the rest of the house's occupants settling at the table. Katniss and I greeted everyone with good mornings and fixed our plates. We joined the rest of the family at the table and joined into the conversation.

"Hey, I still think it's weird that we are both orphan kids, we both came from the same area, and we both are named after breads? That is one cool coincidence!" Taftan exclaimed, sitting beside me.

"I don't know Taftan, y'all could be related," his mother said from the other side of the table. Taftan and I looked at each other, raised one eyebrow, and looked back at Taftan's mother. His mother pointed her fork at us and laughed slightly.

"I mean look! They both have blonde hair, blue eyes, and really strong jaw lines. They even raised their right eyebrow!" Mrs. Lewis reasoned. Taftan looked at each other again before we shook our heads.

"Naah," we both said and shoveled another bite of food into our mouths.

"He doesn't have me very charming looks," Taftan rubbed his chin and gave off a charming look, which wasn't working so well.

Katniss was laughing at the end of the table and starts conversing with Mrs. Lewis. Taftan and I talked with each other for the rest of breakfast while Mr. Lewis was reading the paper on the other side of the table. After breakfast, I helped Mrs. Lewis with the dishes and went back to my room. It was the weekend and Taftan's friends said that they were taking us out to see the town this weekend. I was excited to finally hang out with some kids my age, to get another teenage experience that I have misd out on.

As I checked my hair, the bell for the front door rang. I heard some voices and guessed that they were Taftan's friends. I grab my part of the money Katniss and I split and shoved it into my pocket. I walked into the foyer and Finnick came and slapped my shoulder. Katniss was already down here, talking to Johanna and Annie. I smiled as she laughed at something Johanna said.

"Man, you're really in love aren't you?" Finnick asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, she's my whole life." Finnick patted my back again and kept his arms around his shoulders.

"I can tell. I have been there, and still am," Finnick breathed. "Annie means a lot to me."

"I don't know what I would do without Johanna. I have known her forever," Taftan cut in. he stood next to me and crossed his arms. We just stood there against the wall of the foyer, gazing at our girls. They soon realized that we were staring and turned to us.

"What are y'all are looking at?" Johanna questioned with her hands on her hips. We all shrugged our shoulders.

"The enormous amount of beauty that is before us," Finnick charmed. The girls blushed as we walked over to them.

All of us walked out hand in hand with someone and loaded into two cars. Taftan and his friends took us to a town shopping center that they found to be their favorite. It was the nicest outdoor mall I have ever been to. With us guys not really caring which stores we went to, we just followed the girls, who went into nearly every store in the mall. We went into show stores and gave our opinions on which shoes looked the best. But I had to say Finnick was getting into that a little too much when he started to name female shoe brands.

We soon went into a store where the girls had some fun and chose outfits for the guys. They called it "the makeover of the boyfriends". We went into dressing rooms side by side as our girlfriends waited in chairs right outside our rooms. We guys would always come out at the same time, striking a pose. The girls would study our outfits and tell us if it was a keeper or not. And when the girls left to get more clothes for us to try on, Finnick, Taftan, and I decided that we should come out without shirts this time. So when the girls came back and told us to show them, the guys and I really made sure to look extra good. We walked out, posing as if we were modeling for a magazine, all of us wearing only cargo shorts. All of our girlfriends' eyes went big and they blushed.

"You see what you like?" I asked Katniss. Her mouth just hung open. Annie and Johanna shared similar looks.

"I have to say that this has to be my personal favorite," Taftan put in.

"What do you say ladies?" Finnick asked seductively. They nodded.

"Y-yeah," Annie stuttered slightly.

"It _really_ works with me," Johanna added.

"It's good but we need to check the back," Katniss directed. "So we are going to need y'all to turn around." Katniss waved her finger in a circle, and we turned, still striking a pose.

"Is it good in the back?" I laughed slightly, sticking my butt out slightly. The other guys did the same.

"Most definitely," Katniss told me.

"Uh huh!" Johanna and Annie exclaimed. We all laughed and dressed back into our normal clothes. We walked around a couple more stores when we decided to head into a book store. I'm not a really big reader, but I decided to look at some books anyway. I found this one book that caught my eye**. How to Be a Good Boyfriend/Husband. The Secrets of a Perfect Relationship **it said on the front. I shrugged my shoulders and picked it up. I read a couple of pages before the book was gently lowered from my face. It was taken from my hands softly and put back on the shelf. I look up to see Katniss in front of me.

"You don't need that book," she said softly, putting her hands on my chest. "You're already the perfect boyfriend, more than I can ask for." I smiled before Katniss placed her lips on mine. I melted into the kiss and put my arm around Katniss' waist.

"Hey!" someone shouted. Katniss and I broke apart and blushed. It was just Finnick, smiling. "If y'all are don't making out between book shelves, we want to get lunch." I laughed and grabbed Katniss' hand, following the group. We all decided to eat at a Mexican place in the area and loaded into the cars. We ate and went over to a park. We were at the top of a hill when we decided to sit down.

"So," Taftan started, wrapping his arm around Johanna. "How do you like the town so far?"

"It's pretty cool," I said. Katniss nodded.

"That was the nicest outdoor mall I have ever been to," Katniss added

We all talked for a while longer before we decided that it was getting late and that we should head back. We guys were ahead of them when we came across a small flower store. Taftan, Finnick, and I went in there and bought single roses for Annie, Johanna, and Katniss. I gave my rose to Katniss and gave her a kiss.

"Thank you," she said.

"Oh it was nothing," I said.

"No not that. I mean yes, thank you for the rose but that's not what I meant," Katniss corrected. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Thank you, for everything. For convincing to leave the prison. I would have stayed in my room during the riot if it wasn't for you. Because of you, now we have friends," she kissed me softly on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

**There is your chapter! I hope you liked it. Tell me in the reviews. They make my day! I would also like to thank BurntBreadAndShinyPearls for putting my story in one of her chapters. YOU'RE THE BEST! Go check out their stories, they are really good. Oh and I will be updating once or twice by Sunday, so be on the lookout. Well, until next time….**

**Jessica**


	20. Chapter 20

**IM BACK! It feels good to have internet again. I pretty much left y'all hanging for the month of April, and for that, I apologize. But I'm just now able to get internet for my family's laptops and desktop computers just this weekend. So now I can do this properly. So I give you the real chapter 20 instead of that stupid authors note. I absolutely hate those things but I just had to give one. I couldn't leave my reader's hanging on why I haven't updated in so long! Enjoy!**

Chapter 20: Peeta POV

"Not even one?" Taftan asked astonished for the fourth time this morning.

"Not one," I said, shaking my head. Taftan leaned his fore arms on the island counter top that sat in the middle of the kitchen and shook his head, looking down towards the ground.

"So you are telling me that you never had ONE Thanksgiving?" I shook my head.

"I've never celebrated it before," I shrugged. Mr. Lewis came from behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, there is always a first for everything," Mr. Lewis sighed before patting my shoulder again, walking off to get some coffee.

The following week of the weekend with my new friends was apparently Thanksgiving break, which gave Taftan a whole week off from school. Katniss and I were able to hang out with our new friends and just act normal again. But I know the question of our schooling will come up eventually, and they would probably enroll us into it. With birthday placement, Katniss and I should be freshman in high school. And I am increasingly dreading the day the Lewis's ask us about it. But today was Thanksgiving, and I think that question was far from anyone's mind today.

All of the Lewis's were cooking something themselves for the family dinner this afternoon. They were all making what they thought was their specialty, which included a green bean casserole from Ms. Lewis, a famous cherry pie from Taftan, and alcohol free drink concoction from Mr. Lewis. All of Taftan's family was coming over to enjoy the holiday. Johanna and her parents are coming over as well, saying that all of their family lives out of state and couldn't visit them this year. So a lot of people were coming over, and I just hoped that no one would recognize us.

"Do you have any specialties you want to cook for the dinner, Peeta?" Mrs. Lewis asked. I shook my head.

"No not really. I mean I know how to cook some pretty good food but I don't want to mess up the kitchen or get in yawls way," I explained. Taftan scoffed.

"You wouldn't be getting in our way!" Taftan negated. Taftan stopped getting the supplies for his pie and smirked at me. "You know what I think? I think you can't cook anything and you just won't admit it."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh I can cook, well bake actually."

"I don't believe you. Show us you can bake bread boy!"

"I think I will!"

I go to the cabinets and gather all of the stuff I need for making my specialty, cheese buns. I quickly make the dough and set it out on the counter. I broke the dough into smaller rolls and extra stuffed them with cheese. I sat them on a tray and sprinkled shredded cheese on top and put them in the oven. Once the rolls appeared a nice golden brown, I took them out of the oven. Once the buns cooled slightly, I took one of the buns and cut it into four pieces. I gave everyone one piece to let them try it out.

"Now are you sure this isn't going to kill us?" Taftan teased, eyeing the bread in his hand.

"Yeah I'm sure. Try it and tell me what you think." I told the family. They all put the piece of bread into their mouths and chewed it slowly. I heard Katniss moan in content and others nod in approval.

"Peeta these are delicious!" Mrs. Lewis mumbled with her mouth full.

"Yeah I have to admit, you can bake man." Taftan added

"Where did you learn to make these?" Katniss asked

"Well I left the orphanage often to go hang out with this man that lived a few blocks down the street. He taught me how to bake since his dad owned the local bakery in the town." I answered.

"Well he taught you well," Mr. Lewis said.

"He sure did. I love them, Peeta. You did great." Mrs. Lewis complimented

"I think Katniss is the biggest fan out of all of us," Taftan laughed. I turned to the stove to find Katniss eating another cheese bun, with another one at hand. Katniss bites into her the second one in her hand and looked back over to us. Her eyes went wide and she stopped chewing, even though her is as full as it can get. She gave off a nervous laugh and a small smile. We all laughed as I took the tray and put the buns in the stove warmer. Good thing I made almost three dozen of those buns.

"Well it looks like Peeta will be making those a lot for Katniss," Mrs. Lewis spoke up. Taftan laughed, which made Katniss blush.

"Yeah, a lot! Especially after they're married. Oh man, think of the cheese bun craving she will have when she gets pregnant! Peeta will be making those day and night!" Taftan jokes himself into a laughing fit. Katniss blushes even deeper, which causes me to laugh a little. Katniss gives me a scowl which only makes me laugh even more. But soon I stop and look at Katniss.

"And when we get married and you have those food cravings, I will make you all of the cheese buns you want," I told her. I kissed the top of her head and closed the food warmer. The time for the guest to arrive was nearing as we started to set the table. Most of the food was still cooking as the Lewis' family started to arrive, so I decided to put out my cheese buns as a starter to hold people over until dinner.

I stayed at the corner of the room and looked at people's reactions to the buns, which I was glad to find to be pleasant responses. I smile to myself as I saw Katniss enjoy another cheese bun. I go over to her and wrapped my arm around her waist. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Don't eat too many," I advised her. "You need to save some room for dinner…and the rest of the guest." She smacked my arm lightly and I chuckled.

"Okay, this one will be my last one," she said as she bit into it. Taftan came over with Johanna to drag us to meet some of his cousins our age. There was one girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She had on dark jeans and a really nice blouse. Taftan said her name was Madge. Next to her was a large teenager with his arm wrapped around her, he appeared to be her boyfriend. I was confirmed right when Taftan said that he was Madge's boyfriend. His name was Rye. Another bread name. Then there was another blonde headed girl named Delly, but she had green eyes. She was also Taftan's cousin, and she brought her boyfriend. He had slightly darker hair than mine and his name was…wait for it….Graham. This family must love going after boys with bread names. I made a mental note to ask Katniss what is so attractive about bread names later.

Soon everyone was called to the dinner table and all of the guest piled into the dining room. Hanging from the ceiling was one large chandelier that lit the room in a gentle glow. There was food laid out from one end of the table to the other. I'm guessing that they are going to be passing the food around so everyone could get a bite of everything. All of the teenagers sat at one end of the table as the adults sat at the other end. The little kids sat at another table altogether. We said grace and the passing of the food around the table commenced. I filled two plates sky high with delicious food. I saw that all of the other teenage boys at the able got two plates of food as well, so I didn't look like a total pig.

"So," Taftan started, scooping a bite of dressing into his mouth. "How is it that all of the guys around here are named after bread? And we all have girlfriends, too?" We all shrugged, dumbfounded by the fact.

"So what do you find attractive about the name Rye, Madge?" Rye asked. Madge just shrugged her shoulders.

"A name is just a name. What I find attractive is you," she responded.

"I think the bread names make a better person out of you," Delly added. "That if you have a bread name, you will have a better and more desirable personality."

"That could be a good explanation to why all of the bread boys have girlfriends," Katniss adds in. the girls laugh and all of the guys stare at Katniss.

"Oh, so now we are the bread boys?" Graham asked. The girls nod and roll into another fit of laughter.

"Well if we are," I smirk. "then I'm obviously the best bread boy of them all."

Katniss nods in agreement and I laugh. All of the girls stopped laughing and shook their heads.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up!" Johanna defended. "I think we all know Taftan would be the best one obviously."

"Yeah he probably would be," Delly smirked. "If either you were blind or if you haven't met Graham."

"Actually all of y'all are wrong. Rye is obviously the best choice." Madge stated. Next thing I know, we are all trying to out reason on who should be the best bread boy. But we were soon interrupted by the clinking of a glass. We all quiet down and look down at the end of the other table. The clinker, Mr. Lewis, sat his glass down and cleared his throat.

"It is now the time where we go around the table and say what we are thankful for," he said. "Let's start with you Taftan and go clockwise around the table."

Starting with Taftan, everyone at the table said to everyone else what they were thankful for. Since I was sitting on Taftan's left side, I was going last. But soon enough, it reached Katniss. She cleared her throat and sat up.

"I'm thankful for the Lewis family for taking me in, in my time of need. You guys are a better family that anyone could ask for," she announced and looked at me. My turn.

"I am also thankful for the Lewis family for taking me in, it has helped out a lot. But I'm mostly thankful for my girlfriend Katniss. I don't know what I did that was so good that I was able to get her. But I'm thankful that she returns the feelings of loving me back. I could live a thousand lives and still not deserve her. I thank God for her every day," I say, from my heart.

The table "Awws" as I look at Katniss. Her eyes were tearing up as she tried to blink them away. I took her hand from under the table and kissed it. Katniss shook her head slightly and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I smiled and returned the same gesture.

"Aww man, Peeta. Way to make us guys look bad!" Taftan said, his hands in the air. The table erupts into laughter as the dinner continued.

"So, I think it is obvious that _I _have the best bread boy of them all," Katniss announces, grabs my arm, and puts it around her shoulders. Everybody laughs and we continued to enjoy each other's company. My first Thanksgiving has been a great one; too bad this will most likely be my only Thanksgiving.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello my readers! I know I haven't been updating lately but I have been busy. God, I hate saying that lame excuse, but it's true. Well here is chapter 21. ENJOY!**

Chapter 21: Peeta POV

_Get up, Peeta. _

A soft voice swirled in my brain as I slowly woke up this morning. I just moaned and put a pillow over my head.

_Come on, Peeta. I have a surprise for you if you get up._

I felt a soft hand stroke the side of my face. I also felt my face give away a grin. I grabbed the hand and kissed it. But instead of feeling a tiny hand against my lips, I felt a large, calloused hand. I opened my eyes to find a large boy standing next to the bed. In shock, I threw the hand away from me and yelped. I also scrambled away from the edge of the bed, sitting up in the process. Taftan falls into a fit of laughter, while Katniss just stands there with her hand over her mouth. I could tell she definitely was trying not to copy Taftan's current actions.

"What are you doing touching my face, Taftan!" I yelled, still in shock of the whole situation.

"The real question is why are you kissing my hand?!" Taftan started laughing again.

I rolled my eyes and wiped my tongue on the neck line of my shirt. Taftan just starts laughing again once he saw me doing this. Katniss finally falls on the bed in a fit of laughter as well, no longer able to hold it in anymore. Once they finally stopped laughing, which wasn't until five minutes later, they faced me again.

"Ok," I started, pulling the covers off of me. "now that y'all are done laughing, what's my surprise?"

Taftan grabbed a cupcake from the nightstand on the side of the bed and stuck a candle in it. Katniss took a match from a matchbook and lit it. She lit the candle and put out the match. They placed the cupcake in front of my face and yelled "Happy Birthday!" Was today my birthday? I could never keep track of dates.

"Is my birthday here already? What's today?" I asked

"The 26 of November, your birthday," Katniss responded calmly. "Come on, blow out your candle and make a wish."

I closed my eyes and made a wish. I then blew out the candle and took the desert. I peeled off the covering at the bottom and bit into it. It was a lot better than I expected, since I know Taftan made this. Katniss said that she couldn't cook to save her life.

"Thanks you guys," I mumbled, my mouth still full. I looked at Katniss, who was eyeing my nose. I gave her a weird look back.

"You have something on your face," she answered my silent question.

"Where?"

"Right here." She then put her finger on my nose, successfully smearing it with icing. She smirked at me before laughing. I wonder how I even fall for that, or how she even got the icing off of my cupcake without me noticing. But she wasn't going to get away with that.

I took the rest of the icing off of my sweet desert and smeared it all over my lips and around my mouth. I smirked at Katniss' eyes went wide as she stopped laughing. She was going to get it now.

"That was funny, babe," I slowly stepped towards her. "but you hurt my feelings. And the only way for me to forgive you is to get a kiss from you"

I stuck my arms out in front of me and puckered my lips, chasing after her. Katniss was able to dodge me and jumped over the bed, dashing out of the door. I chased her out of the door and down the hallway. We ran down the stairs and down a hallway. Katniss was met with a dead-end, her back against the wall. She screeched as I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close into me. I gave her a kiss as she squirmed in my grasp. There was no chance of escaping, which I knew she came to after a few seconds. She soon stopped moving my arms and put her arms around my neck. She started to kiss me back, not minding the icing getting all over her face at this point. Once we pulled away, Katniss' face was covered with icing. I kissed both of her cheeks and smiled.

"Gotcha," I whispered. She laughed and kissed me again. She took my hand and we walked into the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis looked at us weird while Taftan smiled.

"Well, well, looks like someone got caught," Taftan concluded.

Mrs. Lewis gave us a weird look. "I'm not even going to ask."

I swiped my tongue around my mouth in attempt to get all the icing. Katniss and I washed our faces off and sat at the table. For my birthday, they made my favorites, chocolate chip pancakes and tons of bacon. They also put some tarts on the table. Mrs. Lewis then put a pitcher of orange juice on the table.

"Happy Birthday, Peeta," Mrs. Lewis said and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. Mr. Lewis came around the table and pats my back.

"Happy birthday son," he announced. I thanked everyone for everything and loaded my plate. With all of my favorites on the table, I made sure I stuffed myself to the core, which I successfully did.

"So how old are you turning today, Peeta?" Mr. Lewis asked.

"Fifteen, sir," I responded. He nodded and took another sip of coffee.

"At least he's not older than me. I turned sixteen in the summer," Taftan added, rubbing his distended abdomen.

"I may not be older, but I'm the better bread boy," I smirked at him before the table erupted into laughter. Taftan frowned, which made me laugh. Katniss then took my hand from under the table to get my attention.

"We still have one more surprise to show you," Katniss informed me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What is that?" I questioned. Katniss got up from her seat next to me and slid her hand from my neck down to my chest.

"You have to get dressed to find out," she whispered into my ear before kissing it. Taftan and I got up from the table and washed all the dishes. I then got dressed into what Katniss said was her favorite outfit to see me in, which was a pair of dark tan cargo shorts and a tight maroon colored Abercrombie shirt. When I met Taftan and Katniss at the front door, I saw that Katniss also wore what my favorite outfit on her, which showed off her legs and all the curves of her torso. Man how this girl can torture.

"So, where are we going?" I looked between the both of them. Both of them just returned smirks.

"You have to get into the car to find out," Katniss told me. I blinked at her.

"Now you could be driving me to my death for all I know. Why should I trust you and Taftan and get into the car?" I questioned Katniss. She came up to me and put her had on my chest, her body flushed against mine.

"do I look like the girl who would make you do something you don't want to do?" Katniss asked seductively, drawing circles over my chest. "Well while you think this through, I'll be waiting in the car."

She made sure that when she removed her hand, that it dragged all the way down my stomach first before she actually removed it. Then when she walked away, she made sure to add extra sway to her hips. I had a really hard time keeping my composure when Katniss "accidentally" dropped something and decided to bend down to pick it up. She finally walked out of the door after her little performance. The door clicked behind her and I was frozen in place. I knew she was going to use that outfit against me at one point or another. Taftan looked at me and spoke up.

"Well, are you going to follow her?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Hell to the yeah! You have to be a dumbass not to follow her after seeing that."

We left the house and all piled into Taftan's car. I slid into the back seat where I sat next to Katniss. I took her hand into mine and interlocked out fingers.

"That was a cruel trick that you played on me in there, Everdeen," I imitated her seductive voice.

"Well, that's just a huge benefit of being a girl," she countered. I laughed as I buckled my seat belt in.

"And what a benefit it is."

We went to go pick up Johanna and headed out onto the highway. We drove for about fifteen minutes before we arrived in front of a huge building. We all got out of the car and went inside. Finnick and Annie were already there waiting for us. They inform us that everything was paid for and that we were all set to go. I must have gave off a confused look because Finnick started to explain.

"We are doing a few rounds of laser tag for your birthday. This is Annie and I's gift to you."

I smiled and thanked them for everything. We soon geared up with the vest and the laser guns. We then broke up into teams, boys versus girls. We them entered the arena and split up. The buzzard sounded and the game started.

I slowly crept around corners and up onto different levels of the arena, on the lookout for the girls. I soon saw Annie in a corner, her back to me. I shot my laser gun at her and hid behind a pillar. I heard her vest go out for five seconds before coming back to life. I took that chance to get her again, but before I could, I was shot from behind. I turned around to find Johanna behind me. I ran as far as I could away from Johanna. I caught up with Finnick and we stuck together for the rest of the round. The guys came out on top that round.

The other two rounds we did different teams. The second time we paired up with our boyfriends and girlfriends. Katniss and I came up on top that round. The third one was a free for all, which Johanna dominated. After the laser tag, we went back to Taftan's house, where his parents made chocolate cake, my favorite. We sliced the cake and laughed over the events that took place today. After my fourth piece of cake, Katniss insisted that we give the gifts now. I was surprised that I still had gifts, I mean, they already did so much already.

Taftan was first handing me a bag. I pulled out the stuffing and pulled out a flex hat. It is just like the DC hat I have but it said something on the front. Bread Boy. Everybody laughed at the hat at how what it said fit me so well.

All that was left was Katniss' gift. She handed me a very small gift bag as well. I reached down all the way to the bottom of the bag and pulled out something cold. In my hand was a chain like bracelet. It pretty much looked like those man bracelets, or a men's watch without the clock. It had that same pattern except for two rectangles on opposite sides of the chain. 'Katniss' Guy' it read on one of the rectangles. On the other one it said 'I Love You. Always'. I looked back up at Katniss, my mouth open slightly.

"This is great, Katniss. I absolutely love it. I'll wear it every day," I told her as I put it on. "Now all we need is one for you that says 'Peeta's Girl'," I told her

"How do you know you don't already have it?" she smirked.

I raised an eyebrow and dug into the bag. I pulled out a second bracelet that said 'Peeta's Girl'. The other side also said 'I Love You. Always.'. Everybody "awed" at our interaction as I put the bracelet onto her wrist.

After the gifts, Finnick and Annie went home and Taftan went to drive Johanna home as well. Katniss and I went into my room and snuggled into bed, with her in my arms.

"You know," I started, breaking the silence. "you are too good for me. This is the best gift I have ever gotten."

"Well I'm glad you like it, because I do love you," she kissed me on my jaw line. I tightened my arms around her and kissed her neck.

"Best girlfriend ever. Couldn't ask for anyone better. And I love you, too."

She turned around in my arms and swung one leg around me, so she was straddling me.

"Well, I know no one has ever celebrated your birthday before. So I wanted to make sure that this one was a good one."

"Well I can tell you that you sure did succeed," I smiled, before bringing her lips to mine again.

**That's another chapter done and another one to start. I will update soon. Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey my loyal readers! I know I haven't updated in a couple of weeks and I really have no excuse. I guess I got caught up with End of Course exams this past week. But now I'm finished and back to writing. I'm sad to say that after this chapter, there is only going to be two more chapters before the story is over. I will hold you no longer. ENJOY!**

Chapter 22: Peeta POV

Even though I am glad I never had to use it, I'm glad I have it. It made me feel safer, even though it could be endangering my life at the same time. I flipped the gun in my hand, examining it. The cool piece of metal still felt foreign in my hands. This thing was still fully loaded from when I went to go save Katniss. I just kind of forgot it was there when we left Reesha's house. And I didn't bother returning it, afraid that Mercutio and his gang would be looking for us.

The bedroom door clicked open and I jumped. The gun dropped from my hands and went into my lap. Katniss was standing at the door, holding a piece of leftover cake from my birthday. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. I'm glad it was just Katniss, and not one of the Lewis. Katniss closed the door and came over to where I was on the floor. She leaned her back against the foot of the bed and sat the plate of cake on her lap.

"You still have that?" Katniss asked, taking it from my hands.

I nodded. "What if we needed it for something? It's for protection."

"Will you even be able to shoot someone?"

"If I had to. I wouldn't even think twice if it threatened your life."

I took the pistol back from Katniss and checked if the safety lock was still on.

"Do you still have yours?" I asked Katniss. She nodded her head and lifted up the mattress. She slipped the gun from under the mattress and held it in her hand awkwardly, as if it was covered in white glue.

"I don't think I would be able to shoot someone," she confessed.

"I doubt you would have to."

I took both guns and shoved them into my backpack. I looked back at Katniss, who already finished the rather large piece of cake. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. That's my girl.

The doorbell rang soon after, telling Katniss and I that Annie, Finnick, and Johanna were here. Taftan told us that they were coming over to hang out. Katniss took my hand to pull me up from the floor. I felt the cool metal of her bracelet hit my wrist. I smile at the fact that she hasn't taken it off since she got it. I haven't taken mines off either.

Hand in hand, Katniss and I walked downstairs and entered the living room. Everybody was sitting in the living room, their eyes glued to the television. I froze at the entrance of the room. Katniss stopped beside me and gave me a questioning look. I pointed to the TV.

_The police are looking for the escaped convicts, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, who were serving life sentences for 1__st__ degree murder. Police think they are closing on the criminals, already catching one on the outskirts of Sugar Land. The police think that the teens are nearby._

"Oh no Reesha," I whispered

"Shit," Katniss said. Everybody in the room turned and looked at us. As if they rehearsed, they all stood up and backed away from us.

"What the hell man!" Taftan shouted, putting his arm around Johanna protectively.

"I can explain-," I started, but I was soon cut off by Taftan.

"Y'all are escaped convicts?!"

"Well-,"

"From prison! Wanted for murder?!"

"Not exac-,"

"How come you didn't tell us?! I thought we were your friends!"

"If you would shut up I could explain everything!" I shouted. Taftan closed his mouth, resulting in silence in the room. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. I took a deep breath and continued. "We are technically escaped prisoners, but we didn't do anything. We didn't kill anybody. We were falsely accused a few years ago. There was a riot a few weeks back and we left the prison, trying to get our lives back, the lives we rightfully deserved. We didn't tell y'all because how are we supposed to have normal lives if everyone were scared of us? Plus, we didn't want anyone turning us in."

Taftan rolled his eyes. "How are we supposed to trust in what you are saying?"

Katniss stepped in. "We aren't lying. Did we look violent to you? Besides, when they convicted us to murder, we were ten. Do you think a couple of ten-year olds would kill someone on purpose? You have to believe us."

Taftan looked down at the floor, shaking his head. Annie let go of Finnick's hand and walked over to us. She stood next to Katniss and grabbed her hand.

"I believe in them," she stated. "I mean, they had every right and reason not to tell us. It makes sense. And they are clearly not dangerous."

"Thanks, Annie," I whispered. She pulled me in for a hug and soon pulled Katniss in for one as well. I looked over at Katniss and grabbed her hand again.

"We need to leave. Like now." We ran back up the stairs into our room, where we packed everything into our backpacks. We were about halfway done when we heard a knock against the wall. Everybody was standing in the doorway, either in the room or just in the doorway.

"Need any help?" Johanna asked.

"Yeah," I said, still packing. "We need a back way to get out of here. Do any of y'all have any ideas of a route?"

"Yeah I do," Finnick answered. "If you hop the backyard fence and go down a few blocks, you could just take alley ways until you are out-of-town. I found out one day when skipped school one time and just hopped from one alley to another. It led me to the outskirts of town."

By the time he finished explaining, Katniss and I were all packed. Our friends led us to the back door. We walked through the living room and gathered at a door that was connected to the room. Johanna pulled me in for a hug.

"Be careful," she whispered. I hugged her back and nodded. Annie was next and held me tightly.

"I'll miss you, Peeta," she said.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Annie."

Katniss went over to Taftan and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She then went over to Finnick, who was tapping his cheek with his finger. Katniss shook her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well. I frowned

"Hey, if y'all get a kiss from my girl, then I get a kiss from y'all girls," I proclaimed. Annie and Johanna rolled their eyes and each gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Katniss said goodbye to the girls while I said my farewell to the guys.

"Take care of her," Finnick told me seriously.

"I'll will. I'll try with my life."

Katniss and I were about to walk out the door when we overheard the news again.

_The police are zeroing in on the teen convicts. We are streaming to you live footage as the police and S.W.A.T prepare to storm the suspected house._

The police were around the house. Taftan's house.

. "Go, I'll hold them off for as long as I can," Taftan said

We were in the backyard when we heard Taftan in the front of the house.

"What the hell are y'all doin' in front of my house?" he yelled. I laughed to myself. I wondered how people who are watching are reacting to Taftan's little show.

I hopped the fence and helped Katniss over. We followed Finnick's instructions and ran a few blocks down the street once we got out of the neighborhood. We soon found out that this part of this part of the city was pretty much all alley ways.

Katniss and I stopped in the first alley and leaned against the wall to catch our breath. I pulled out one gun and shoved it into the waist band on my pants. I pulled my shirt over it and took the second gun out. I put it into Katniss' pants and pulled her shirt over the pistol as well.

We took off running again, cautiously looking down streets before crossing them to get into other alleys. But I didn't look carefully enough when a cop car came speeding around the corner. I pulled Katniss into another alley and stopped in the middle. The cop car past the alley and zoomed into the next street. I pulled Katniss back into the previous street and started going backwards. We madeit a few blocks before more officers started showing up. Katniss pulled me towards the opposite direction again and we took off again.

We weren't even trying to hide ourselves anymore. We knew that we were seen by the officers and the S.W.A.T team. Our goal now was to out run them, if that was possible. We turned down streets with cops running after us, helicopters flying over us. we were about to turn onto another street when I saw a woman getting stuff out of her car. The car was still running and the driver side door was open. That was my chance.

"Go to the car, Katniss! Get on the passenger side."

She nodded and ran faster. She got to the car and slid over the hood of the car. I got into the driver's seat and locked the doors. Katniss looked behind us and looked back at me.

"Have you even driven a car before?" Katniss questioned.

I shook my head. "Nope."

"So you don't know how to drive?"

"We are about to find out."

I yanked the car into drive and slammed my foot into the gas pedal. The car shot forward and I was pushed back into my seat. Katniss gripped the handle of the car door and screamed, squeezing her eyes shut. I turned the steering wheel and the car turned into another street. By now, there were about 20 cop cars following us. Katniss kept looking back nervously.

"They're catching up to us!" Katniss shouted.

This just made me press my foot down more onto the gas pedal. The car jerked forward again and sped up. We zoomed down streets and on highways, and no matter what I did, I couldn't lose them. I think Katniss could sense that as well. And only about five minutes of driving, the car sputtered to a stop, running out of gas. I hit the wheel out of anger before jumping out. I grabbed Katniss' hand before started running again. But cop cars soon passed us up and blocked our path in front of us, forming a semi-circle. Katniss and I turned around, trying to head in the other direction. More cop cars blocked the rest of our chances of escaping. We were trapped in one large circle. Katniss and I looked around frantically, looking for a place to escape. Nothing. We were surrounded.

Katniss looked at me with large scared eyes. Cops were standing behind their doors with their guns pointed at us, helicopters were circling us from above like vultures. They were yelling at us to get down onto our knees and to put our hands behind our heads. But there was one thing I had to do first.

I grabbed Katniss and pulled her in for a kiss. It was full of passion and urgency. I needed one more kiss, to tell Katniss how much I love her. I pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"I love you Katniss. You're my whole world, don't forget that. If we get separated and somehow you get out, don't wait for me. Find someone else that would treat you right," I told her. She shook her head.

"Only if you do the same is the situation was reversed." She compromised. She held my hand tightly.

"I love you," I told her again.

"Always?" she asked

"Always."

I gave her one more kiss before getting on my knees. I put one hand behind my head, while the other was still holding onto Katniss' other hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I whispered. She squeezed my hand in reassurance.

"It's okay. We were going to get caught eventually."

"It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. You did your best."

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Peeta. I love you, always."

"Always."

Our hands were still joined when I noticed that the cops were still yelling things at us.

"Put BOTH of your hands behind your head!" they yelled. Katniss pulled my hand over and kissed my fingers. I did the same and gave her hand one last squeeze. Katniss let go of my hand and put it behind her head. I stood up straighter on my knees and put my other hand behind me head. If I was going down, I was going down looking strong.

The cops and some people on the S.W.A.T team came over to Katniss and I and put handcuffs on our wrist. They yanked us up and pulled us in opposite directions. Anger boiled up inside me as I saw how they practically dragged her away. They didn't need to be that harsh with her. I struggled with the cops, trying to get back to Katniss, but more of them just tightened their grip on my arms. They shoved me into the back of a car and slammed the door. I looked over to the car where Katniss was. Even though we were far away from each other, I could see that she was crying.

I mouthed "I love you" to her and she did the same. I felt my eyes burning as tears soon started to fall from them. Two cops got into the driver and passenger's seats and closed their doors. I saw Katniss disappear as the car drove off. That was it. We are caught. And I may never see Katniss again. I let my head hit the glass window in front of me as I cried. I cried all the way to the station, where hell awaits me.

**OH NO! They were captured! You will have to wait until the next chapter to see what happens to the couple. So as usual, until next time….**

**Jessica**


	23. Chapter 23

**Well, here is the second to last chapter. Yes, this story is coming to an end. So, I hope you find these last chapters satisfying as an ending to the story. Here is chapter 23. ENJOY!**

Chapter 23: Peeta POV

By the time the police car arrived at the station, I was all cried out. I felt weak, was weak. I didn't have any strength in me anymore, to do anything. To fight, to resist, the will was just gone. Without Katniss, I had no reason to fight anymore. She was the only reason I was fighting.

So when they yanked me out of the back of the cop car, I didn't struggle. I was like a puppet with strings, just doing what they will me to do. I walked up the steps to the station with the officers holding on tight onto my wrist and arms. The officers sat me down into a room and shut the door. The room was dull and square, with one wall being almost completely glass. I knew then that I was in an interrogation room.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as I tried to get situated with these cuffs around my wrist. I hoped that they were going to take them off soon, but I knew they weren't. I knew that I was going to have to take them off myself. I brought my arms up and around my head by using this trick I learned in the orphanage. It involved popping my shoulder socket in weird ways that didn't feel too good, so I didn't use it much. But I have to admit, that trick did come in handy sometimes. I guess the orphanage wasn't _all_ wasteful.

I was rolling my shoulders out when two officers opened the door. I looked behind me and saw the same officers that drove me here. The same scraggly facial hair, the same black officer suits I hate so damn much. Glaring at me, they walked into the room, walking around the big metal table. I looked at the belt of the first officer and noticed that the handcuff keys were clipped onto his belt. Thinking quickly, I unclipped the keys off the second officer's belt. I cringed as I struggled for a hundredth of a second, thinking he would have felt it. Thankfully he didn't. He must be a rookie if he didn't feel that.

The two young officers stood at the opposite side of the table, both of their palms flat against the table. They stared me down, as if they were trying to figure me out through my face. One straightened himself out, and took a deep breath.

"Well, it looks like we finally caught you," he started, crossing his arms. "You know how much trouble this state went through to find you? You and your little girlfriend had the biggest manhunt in the history of the state of Texas looking for you."

"Yeah yeah I know," I huffed. "Can I go back to my cell now?"

"Well we have to ask you a few questions first."

"Like what?"

"Like, like why did you escape in the first place?"

"I'm not answering anything until you get these cuffs off of me."

The officer gave me a strange look. "No! Why would we do that?"

The sidekick rookie spoke up. "I think we should take them off from him."

The older officer stared at him. The rookie shrugged. "I mean he clearly isn't going to answer any questions if we don't take them off from him."

The older officer shook his head. "We aren't going to take the cuffs off. Because once we do, he is going to try to escape or come after us. its common sense, Rookie."

"Uh, I don't think so."

The two officers turned away from me to talk slightly more privately about the situation. I took that time to undo my handcuffs and rubbed my wrist. I put the keys into my pocket and raised the handcuffs. I dropped them onto the table, which resulted into a loud clanking sound of metal on metal. The two officers stopped talking and turned around. They looked between me and the undone cuffs on the table. I just smirked at them.

"How did you get those off?" the older officer asked.

"I have my ways."

The older officer exhaled deeply and ran his hand through his hair.

"Rookie," he motioned his finger from him and swiped it to me. "Go put those cuffs on him."

"What's the point sir? I mean, he ain't doin' nothing. And now that he has the cuffs off, he'll answer our questions."

I crossed my arms and sunk into the chair, smirking at the older officer. The officer gave up and sat down into one of the chairs. The rookie followed suit.

"Now," the officer spoke. "Why did you escape?"

"I'm not answering anything."

That ticked the officer over the edge. "WHY NOT! THE CUFFS ARE OFF!"

"Yeah but I had to take them off myself, which I didn't want to do. I want something else now."

The officer stood up in frustration. "What do you want now?"

"I want to see Katniss. Take me to see her. at least one more time before y'all separate us."

The officer opened his mouth, about to protest, when something stopped him. He put two fingers to his ear and stood still. I saw a look of disappointment and disbelief cross his face. He put his hand down and reached for his belt. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and brought it up to his mouth.

"Bring her in," he said.

About a minute later, the door opened. Katniss was there, standing in all of her glory.

"Katniss," I breathed, standing up from my chair.

We met in the middle and embraced each other. I held her tightly and buried my face into the crook of her neck, smelling her hair. Her forehead was resting on my shoulder, shaking slightly.

"I missed you so much," she whispered

"I missed you, too."

We pulled apart and I held her face in my hands, my thumb stroking her cheek.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah I'm fine."

I kissed her head and brought her in for another hug, her head on my chest this time.

"I'm sorry, for everything," I apologized again for what seemed the hundredth time that evening.

"I know."

We separated completely this time when we heard a cough from behind us. We turned around and faced the officers.

"Are you ready to answer our questions now?" the older officer asked.

I wrapped my arm around Katniss' waist and looked at her.

"Yeah," I responded. "I am."

Katniss and I answered every question that they threw at us, and answered them truthfully. We had nothing to hide anyway. Once they asked all of the questions, they took us out of the room and sat us in the waiting room. They told us that we were going back to the jail from which we came, which was a relief. They weren't going to separate us. But I knew that the prison would probably put us back into the punishment part of the prison instead of the good behavior section.

They put us back into cuffs and shoved us into a car. At least they put us in the same car, which I was grateful for. The officers put our stuff that wasn't confiscated in the trunk of the car. I think they were just going to let the prison deal with that. I did the same thing with my arms as I did in the interrogation room and unlocked my handcuffs again. I released Katniss of her cuffs and sat the contraptions on the floor of the car. I held onto Katniss' hand and rubbed my thumb along the top of it reassuringly. Katniss looked up at me and gave me a small smile. She then snuck in a quick kiss on my lips.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."

We arrived at the prison at the back entrance. The drivers of the car opened the door for us and we got out. They were shocked when they saw that we were able to escape our cuffs. Willingly, we started walking to the back entrance, where there were more guards waiting for us. The officers handed our stuff and us over to the guards. The prison guards held a firm grip on our arms until the officers were out of sight. They let us go at that point and just patted our backs to move forward. They gave us out backpacks, which had pretty much everything in it, like our shoes and clothes. They even let me keep my guitar. I guess the station we just left from didn't see any harm of letting me keep it.

We were walking down familiar halls when we took a left turn instead of a right. We were heading towards the good behavior facility. I looked at one of the guards and gave them a confused look.

"I think you are taking us the wrong way." I said. The guard looked down at me.

"No, we are taking you to the right place," he responded. I raised an eyebrow and he extended his explanation. "We are putting you two back into yawls original cells. We know y'all aren't bad kids and don't deserve to be with the rest of the inmates. Sure, y'all escaped, but it was to get back the life y'all rightfully deserve. We know y'all didn't do the crimes y'all were charged with. The least we can do is to put y'all back with the rest of the good inmates."

I smiled at him and Katniss smiled as well. We reached the doors to the facility and the guards went to open the doors. I peeked through the windows that showed into the facility. I saw everyone was sitting around at the tables in the common area, waiting to see who was entering. The doors opened and Katniss and I walked in. the room was dead silent, shocked by our return. After a moment, someone started to clap. Then another, and another. Soon, the place was filled with noises of clapping, stomping, and whistles. Katniss and I were soon greeted with hugs and pats on the back, kind of congratulation on your escape. After about five minutes, the crowd split and we were left with just ourselves. Katniss led me to the same group we used to talk to before the escape.

"AWW y'all got caught?" said one woman at the table. "I was rooting for you two."

Katniss laughed. "Yeah, we were finally caught and arrested."

Katniss and I sat down at our usual table and sat our stuff down at our feet. Instinctively, I wrapped my arm around Katniss' waist and pulled her up onto my lap. Katniss blushed as the other women all "ooo-ed" at us.

"It looks like someone finally got the girl!" someone said. I nodded like a little kid as Katniss got off my lap somewhat.

"I sure did get the girl," I added, kissing her head. Katniss pulled my head away and shook her head. I felt blush from her rejection and my embarrassment creep up on my cheeks. She looked up at me, still shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

She just kept shaking her head. "You can't do that anymore."

"Do what?"

"Those kisses on the head that you used to do when we were friends, those won't be acceptable anymore."

"What do you mean-,"

My question was answered when she leaned over and kissed me on the lips. The other tables soon started to whistle, holler, and make funny comments about us. but all of that was faded out when I deepened the kiss. So yeah, I was back in the prison. That didn't seem to matter anymore. I had Katniss, and she had me. No matter where I was, that's all I needed.

**I couldn't separate them! That would have been cruel! They go through all that just to be separated? I wouldn't do that! Okay, one more chapter left in this story, then it's over. So, until next time….**

**Jessica **


	24. Chapter 24

**My loyal readers…I'm sad to say that this is the last chapter. I'd like to thank everyone who has been following, favorite, and reviewing, and my story. I hope you tell other people how awesome this story was and tell other people to read it. Well, ENJOY!**

Chapter 24: Peeta POV

**2 ½ Years Later…**

It's been a bit over two years since the escape thing. Katniss and I are seventeen, with me turning eighteen in a few months. It's the summer time at the prison and man is it hot. It seemed like the heat has gotten worse over the past couple of years. I used this excuse to take my shirt off more often and to show my chest. Katniss complains about it sometimes, but I know she secretly doesn't mind at all.

The guards and officers at the prison were nice to let us keep our stuff. Like on some occasions, the guards will let us wear the clothes we brought instead of our usual prison suit. Like if we have really bad weather that day and we have to stay inside all day, they will let us wear them then. Or if it's really hot, he will let us the cooler clothes we have.

Most of Katniss' clothes still fitted her pretty well, since she only grew half an inch in the past couple of years. Me on the other hand, only a few still fit me. I grew two inches and built a lot of muscle. Katniss was most disappointed when I outgrew the cargo shorts I got from Abercrombie and Fitch, saying that my butt looked the best in those shorts.

Now, Katniss and I were in my cell, sitting in silence on my bed. I was on my back, one hand behind my head. Katniss was curled into my side, my arm protectively around her waist, resting lazily on her hip. Katniss was casually drawing circles on my chest, when she finally spoke up.

"You know, they should just let us share a room."

I looked down at her quizzically. "Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I hang out most of the time in here anyways. Might as well live in here."

"Uh, as much as I would love that, the prison wouldn't let us do that. No matter how much they love us."

"Well how about this," she turned around so she was facing me. "Maybe…maybe we don't have to tell them about our little arrangement."

"Oh so you think we can somehow, sneak around in a prison?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and we can get more time to ourselves"

"Oh yeah? And what are going to do with this extra time?" I asked knowingly.

She answered my question by smirking, then leaning down to plant her lips onto mine. My arms went around her back while her hands went deep into my now all blonde hair. I pulled Katniss so she was fully on top of me; I wanted her as close as possible. She smiled against my lips as she tilted my head to the side a little. She deepened the kiss, asking for entrance. I moaned into her mouth and granted her access. God, this girl was going to be the end of me.

I flipped us over and started to draw kisses down her jawline. I felt the vibrations of her moan as I moved down to her neck. I was almost down to her collar-bone when she pulled my head back up to her face. She claimed my lips once more, making me smile this time.

I'm glad that our relationship wasn't faltered by the prison system. Actually, I think our relationship hasn't been any better. Sure, we got non-harmful teasing from our fellow inmates for like, a month, but other than that, it has been good. The guards and officers hadn't said anything about our level of intimacy, so we didn't bother to sneak around. Everybody knew about Katniss and I. And as far as I knew, everybody was cool with it.

Even though the guards didn't mind, we didn't kiss out in the open, or in front of everybody. So when we did get the chance to let loose a little, we take full advantage of it. And I guess Katniss was taking full advantage of this moment. I don't know how she flipped us over again, but she did, and was trailing kisses by the hollow behind my ear. And man, did it feel good. I copied her and brought her lips back to mine and her tongue swiped my bottom lip. I opened my mouth and-

"This is why we keep you in separate rooms."

Katniss and I pull apart, but Katniss doesn't get from on top of me. We looked over to the door to find one of the guards we've grown to know. Officer Crane was smirking at the opening of the door, leaning against the door frame. I groaned in annoyance and rolled my eyes, but he continued.

"If I didn't come, Katniss would be walking-no wait, waddling, around the prison with a swollen stomach. And that's not a pretty sight in prison, trust me." He laughed and Katniss blushed.

"What do you want, Crane?" I moaned, a little angry that he interrupted us.

"Y'all have visitors. They want to see you two together," he answered. He started to walk out the door when he stopped. He turned back to us and raised an eyebrow. "Y'all might want to fix yawl selves up before heading down. Y'all look a mess." Then he leaves.

I looked back at Katniss, and Crane was right. Katniss' lips were swollen red, and her hair was all over her head and face. I saw her smile, and I knew I probably looked the same, maybe even worse.

We fixed ourselves and left our cell into the visiting center. Katniss and I walked in, hand in hand, to find all of our friends there, waiting for us. Taftan, Johanna, Finnick, and Annie were all there talking amongst themselves. But they soon went silent as they saw us. The silence was soon replaced with smiles and greetings. We all settled down at the table like we usually do whenever they visit.

"So," Finnick started. "Things have been getting better out there ya know."

"Yeah, y'all two are still getting a lot of attention, even after two years" Johanna added.

"People are still sending in money to help y'all out." Taftan interjected.

Since Katniss and I were brought back to the prison, we have been getting a lot of attention. People have been outraged when they saw a couple of kids getting arrested on national television. We saw through the television in the common area that there have been protest and petitions for us. Katniss and I single-handedly started a movement. A layer even came to speak with Katniss and me about our case about a year and a half back.

"_And how are you going to be able to help us again?" I questioned the half bald man in front of us, unconvinced._

"_I'm going to fight for the two of you. I'm going to represent y'all in court." He simply answered, unfazed._

"_Why?"_

"_Because I think what happened to the two of y'all is wrong. Kids don't deserve to be in prison."_

"_What makes you think that you are actually going to succeed unlike the other people?"_

"_Because," he said, running his hand over his head. "because there was evidence found that links your case, Katniss' case, and other cases like this to another person. If this evidence proves that he actually did the crimes you and Katniss are charged for, y'all will be released."_

_I looked at Katniss skeptically, unsure he really wants to help us._

"_How are we supposed to know if you actually want to help us? How are we supposed to know if you aren't just doing this for the publicity or the money?"_

"_I'm not in it for the money!" he spat at us. He put his head in his hands and started muttering to himself. Soon, he rubbed his hands over his face and looked back at us. "I'm doing this because I believe y'all are in here for something y'all didn't do._

"_My son was convicted of the same thing, put on death row for something he didn't do. I don't want the same thing to happen to someone else as what happened to my son; I don't want y'all to die in prison. That's why I'm defending y'all this time around."_

_The sincerity in his voice made me really believe him, that he was really here to help us. Katniss grabbed my hand from under the table and squeezed it. I knew at that point that we could get out legally. This man gave Katniss and I something that we lost a long time ago; hope._

"Are y'all excited to get out of here?" Annie asked cheerfully

Katniss let out a deep sigh. "I don't know if the court will actually believe us this time. I mean, they didn't believe us the first time."

"Oh come on you guys," Taftan spoke up. "Things can change. The odds are in your favor this time around."

All too soon, the guards say that our visit time is up. Our friends soon leave and we are sent back to our cells.

Days, weeks have went by since Katniss and I last saw our friends, and since I went to court to testify for my case. My case went pretty high in the court system, and it actually seems pretty good. It seemed like the jury will actually believe me this time around.

Katniss and I were talking to Reesha, who just got back into the good behavior facility, when someone yelled at us to shut up. Reesha was about to cuss them out when Katniss found out what they wanted us quiet for. Katniss and I were on TV. Well, not actually, just our court rooms. The news reporter just announced that my case and Katniss' case was about to get a verdict soon, saying that our juries just went to the deliberation room.

A round of cheers and slaps on the back went around as the news sunk in. I gave Katniss a hug and kissed the top of her head. I swung her around in a circle in the happiness of the moment. But that happiness soon ended when an officer came into the room unnoticed and slammed her baton on a table, hard.

All of us sat down hastily and looked at the skinny, tall woman. She was holding a sheet of paper in her hand, looking over it. I thought she was going to read the announcements the prison delivers to us every once in a while. The woman cleared her throat and started to speak.

"This news only applies to the following people: Lisa Avery, Katniss Everdeen, Kennedy Granum, Peeta Mellark, and Reesha Smith."

The other inmates looked around at the people who were called. Katniss looked up at me with her eyebrows raised. I just shrugged my shoulders and looked back up at the officer at the front of the room.

The woman continued. "The people I just said, I have some good news for you. There has been either been an investigation, new evidence, or both that has led to the overturning of your convictions. Y'all will be released soon."

Katniss and I stood up from our chairs and looked at each other in shock. I pulled her in for a rough kiss and held her tight against me. I spun her around again in my arms as the inmates cheered for us and the others that are being let out.

"We are getting out, real or not real?" I yelled over the noise to Katniss.

"Real," she answered. "Definitely real."

The officer let us have our moment before she calmed us all down again. She told us that she had the release dates for the people leaving.

"Avery, Everdeen, and Granum are being released in two days. The others will be released in three days. That will be all." And with that, she left the room.

My happiness was gone after she said that. It seemed like all the energy just left my body. Katniss was being released before me. I'll have to spend a whole day in this prison without Katniss. I sat down on a table and put my face into my hands. Even though it was only a day, it felt like my world was ending. Katniss is my whole world, so my world was coming to an end.

Katniss sat next to me and wrapped her arms around me, whispering comforting things into my ear. I soon settled down and came back to reality. The guards soon told us that it was time to surrender to our rooms. I was giving Katniss a hug before we go into our separate rooms like we did every night when a guard came walking past us.

"You know," he whispered to us. "If y'all were to share a room for yawl's last night's together, I didn't see anything."

Katniss said thank you and he winked in response, continuing down the hall. Katniss pulled me into my cell and towed me towards the bed. I crawled in first while Katniss curved into me, her back against my chest. I wrapped my arm around Katniss and kissed her neck. That's how we slept our last two nights together.

Katniss' release day went by in a blur until it was time to release the inmates. Katniss was waiting with the other two women, her stuff in hand. The guards allowed me to wait there until she had to go. I pulled her in for a hug, Katniss pulling me as close as possible. I could feel against my chest that she was crying. I rubbed her back soothingly while she let out her tears. I pulled her back slightly so I could see her face. Her eyes were wet and so were cheeks. I wiped away a stray tear with my thumb and kissed her forehead.

"Everything will be alright," I reassured her.

"Everything will be alright," she repeated. "But how are we going to be together?"

"I'll find you. No matter what, I'll find you. I love you."

"I love you, too. Always."

"Always."

Katniss got on her tiptoes and gave me one long, soft kiss. She pulled away and pulled me in for another hug. We stayed like that until they told her it was time for her to go. I leaned down and gave her one last kiss.

"I love you," I told her again.

"I love you, too. Be safe."

"You, too."

Katniss looked back one more time before walking through the door. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind her and I was left standing there. A guard came up to me and pat me on the back.

"Cheer up, buddy. You'll see her again, I promise." He said, trying to cheer me up. I just sighed in response. He thought of another idea. "How about we get you some ice cream yeah? How about we give everybody some ice cream today! That'll take your mind off things."

Even though I ate my whole bowl of ice cream, it really didn't take my mind off of things, of how much I miss Katniss. That's all I thought about through the night. Her eyes, her hair, her kisses. These things drove me insane all throughout the night. I think I got less than an hour of sleep all night.

I was a mess when it came to my release the next day. I thought about my release and realized that I had nowhere to go. No matter how much I wanted to leave this prison, I didn't want to go back to the Home. I didn't want to go back to living like that. I asked a passing guard that question.

"Who are y'all releasing me to?" I asked him. He smiled.

"Well, there was a family that agreed to keep you until you turn eighteen in a few months, and if you were good, they'll keep you until you finish school. They live in the area."

I nodded and he left. I wasn't excited to live with strangers, but hey, it was better than the orphanage. I walked through the door and maneuvered my way through the halls until I reached the front. The gates unlocked and I walked through the front. My eyes squinted as they adjusted to the light. When my eyes were fully adjusted, I thought they were still deceiving me.

Katniss was standing there, wearing the outfit I like the best on her. The short shorts showed off her legs while her skin tight shirt showed the outline of her naval ring showing through the shirt. I blinked multiple times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. But her smile just got bigger on her face.

"Well," she started. "Are you just going to stand there? Because I missed you so much and I can really use a kiss from you right about now."

I ran up to her and scooped her up in my arms. This was the happiest moment of my life. I promise you, there were string instruments somewhere playing just for this moment. I pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned her.

"We are here to take you home."

"Wait, we?"

"Yeah, me and my parents."

I looked behind Katniss and saw her parents waiting by the car, the doors open. Everything finally clicked in my head.

"Your parents agreed to take me in?" she nodded.

I pulled in for a kiss, and I bet her parents were watching, but Katniss didn't seem to care when she wrapped her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss. I pulled back after about fifteen seconds, since her parents were watching. Katniss seemed to pout but stopped when she seemed to get the message of why I pulled away. She grabbed my hand and led me to the car. Her parents got in and closed the doors. Katniss stopped by the car, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"This time around, there will be no cops out for us, or drug lords. Are you ready?" I answered her by leaning down and kissing her softly.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

**Well you guys, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I loved writing it. Now, I wasn't planning on it but some people have asked for a sequel. Do y'all want a sequel? Tell me in the reviews! Until next time….**

**Jessica**


	25. Authors Note About Sequel

Hey my readers! So after some deep thought, I am going to write a sequel. But it will probably come maybe next week, not making any promises. Im also going on a college road trip sometime this month because my sister is going to be a senior next year, I'm only going to be a sophomore. I also have to plan out my chapters before I start to write and post them. Please review any ideas you have for me, or send me a PM. Ideas are greatly appreciated. I will alupdated another authors note when I do post the sequel. But in the meantime, even though this story is complete, tyour other people on this site to come and read it. Get them all caught before the sequel comes out! Until then, I'll see y'all guys later.

Jessica.


	26. Sequel is up!

Hey my readers! The sequel for this story is up! You no longer have to wait! It is called "Are We Really Free". Please follow, favorite, and review!


End file.
